Actually, I'm Not Really Sure Yet
by SashaFeirce12.0
Summary: Seth took in another breath and growled. So loud, birds took to the skies. And then he was on four paws. Four, sandy brown paws. His clothes were in shreds around him. His body hurt no more. He could breathe again. He was...He was okay. And a wolf. A giant, sandy brown...wolf. The fuck?
1. Chapter 1

**I'm baaack! And with a new and improved story. So I realized that I was being stupid for hiding away forever, so now I've thought of something new to pitch at you and I hope you like it! Oh, and it's about SETH this time! I'm going to use Jazmyn, but nothing from **You Promised **has happened here. Oh, and I'm starting fresh with characters, so no of my OCs from my other stories will be here, either.**

**Mmm...Oh. And Claire I'm making a teenager. I like her as a two year old, but it's so hard to include her in stuff when she's that age, so, yeah. **

**And...Mmm...This chapter here is where it's all gonna start. Things will be explained as the story goes on.**

**Well, I'm going to shut up now. Enjoy!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter One

"Harry was a great friend to me. A wonderful father to his children, and an all around great guy. It took a lot to make him mad-" Seth looked down. "But he had a kind heart, and was so forgiving. It was...A shock to find out that he was gone. And I didn't believe it at first..." Charlie looked down and sucked in a breath. "But I know...That he's alright. Heck, he's probably out fishing right now, bragging about the big catch he reeled in." Charlie and a few people chuckled, then got quiet again. "I know I'll see him again. When the time is right. But as for now, Harry? You'll be greatly missed."

Charlie stepped off the podium and went back to sit next to his daughter. Practically all of La Push was here; Harry was loved and known by everyone. It was a sad, sad day. And the rain didn't help any of it at all.

Damn La Push.

Seth folded his arms across his chest and looked at his feet, sinking low in the pew. He suddenly felt cold on his right side as Leah stood up. He glanced at the podium, watching her take her place.

She smiled grimly and took in a shaky breath.

"Daddy..." She smiled. "It's so hard to describe him, cause he was so many great things in one. He was caring, loving, funny..." She laughed once. "I remember when he first took me fishing. I caught this tiny little minnow, but I was so excited, I didn't care. And then he made me let it go. I started crying because...It was my first catch, y'know? I wanted to keep it. In my little six year old mind, I wanted to mount it on a wall so it could sing a song whenever you pressed the button on the wood." She giggled along with some other people. "But he told me that I had to let it go so it could grow into something bigger." She got quiet and looked up with a small smile. "That's just the kind of person Daddy was. Always looking out for even the tiniest things.

"Another time, I remember, was when I was ten and I fell off our roof. I had insisted on helping put up the Christmas lights, but he'd said 'wait until I get up there'. Me, I didn't listen. I went up there, anyway. Fell off and broke my arm. And he didn't say 'I told you so.' He didn't say 'I bet you learned your lesson' like anyone else would. He just hugged me, and thanked God that I was safe. And then he let me put the tree topper on the Christmas tree. And that's just how he was. Always making the best out of something bad.

"I might cry, because he's gone. I might get mad...Cause...Cause he left and didn't take me with him. But then I think about all the great times I had with him, and I thank God that I was able to have those memories. The good ones. And I know that...He'll be looking down on me every day, seeing me through everything." She smiled and stepped down after a sigh, going back to her seat.

Everyone looked at Seth after that, but he kept his eyes on the ground.

"Do you want to say anything?" Leah whispered to him. He looked at the casket in front of the podium. His vision became clouded with hot tears and he looked away quickly. He started to shake and Leah put a hand on his knee. "You'll be okay." He moved away from her and stood up, walking out of the church.

He made it outside and sat down on the curb, not caring that he was getting soaking wet from the rain. He gasped in over and over again, trying to steady his breathing.

He couldn't do it. It was too much. He felt so much guilt and anger towards himself. He was the reason Harry was dead. And knowing that made him feel terrible inside.

He dug his fingers into his scalp and clenched his teeth together, trying to get rid of the feeling growing inside of him. It started from his stomach and spread out through the rest of his body. He shook still, but this time it wasn't from his panic attacks.

Whatever it was, it was like something was trapped inside his body. It wanted out. It was like claws trying to dig their way through him. It was a feeling in his stomach that made him sick. He jerked forward and threw up on the street, letting the rain wash it away.

He snarled and growled, digging his fingers deeper and deeper into his head until he swore he could feel blood ooze between them.

"Shit!"

"Get him out of here!"

He felt himself being grabbed and rushed somewhere. He thrashed around, trying to get away, but they were too strong and had a good hold on him.

Then he was thrown on the ground, still writhing and thrashing. He growled and snarled and clawed at the earth.

"Just let it out, kid."

No. He wouldn't. Whatever it was, and no matter how painful it was, he was going to force it to stay in.

"Don't fight it, Seth!"

"Just let it go!"

He couldn't breathe. He was hot. He was in pain. Seth clawed desperately at his suit jacket, ripping it off. He felt the thing trapped inside him try to push its way out. His bones started to shift and crack and pop. The thing started pushing harder and harder, making him turn over on his stomach.

"Just let it go," someone said sternly. He felt like he had to obey them. He couldn't disobey this person. So he stopped moving. He took in another breath and growled. So loud, birds took to the skies.

And then he was on four paws. Four, sandy brown paws. His clothes were in shreds around him. His body hurt no more. He could breathe again. He was...He was okay.

And a wolf.

A giant, sandy brown _wolf_.

The _fuck_?

Then he was scared. He was scared shitless. He backed up and ran into a tree. He whipped his head around, looking at his surroundings. They were all clear and focused. Better than looking through a magnifying glass.

But it was still scary.

He yelped and ran backwards, slamming into another tree.

"Calm down, Seth. Stop!" Sam yelled. Seth stopped. He looked at Sam and Jacob and Paul, who all looked calm as if they'd seen this before.

"Good. Now see if you can change back," Paul said.

Change back? How the hell did he change back?

"Think human," Jacob added.

Human? Well, a human has _two _legs, not four. And they're not covered in fur. And they don't growl, or have muzzles, or...

"There you go." Seth looked down at his..._Naked _human body. "Well that was quick. Just like his sister." Embry popped out of nowhere and threw a pair of jeans at him, which Seth quickly put on. He stared at the ground, in shock.

Had he really...? Just...?

Holy. Crap.

He stayed frozen for a while, just staring at the ground as the rain made it muddier and muddier.

"Bro, you okay?" Jacob put a hand on his shoulder. Seth yanked it out of his grasp and turned away.

_Yeah, I'm okay, _Jacob_. I just exploded into a giant wolf, but other than that I'm totally _fine_. Oh, yeah. Did I mention that I just puked? And that I had to stare at my dad's dead body for half an hour? I didn't? Well, it's in the open air now!_

"Dude, don't be like that," Jacob said quietly.

"I know it's a shock, but you need to except this," Sam added.

Except it? Ex_cept _it? Everyone had been telling him to except everything. Except this, except that. Except the fact that your dad will never come back, _Seth_. Except the fact that you can't take back the last words you spoke to him, _Seth_. Except the fact that you can never do anything right, _Seth_.

Except the fact that you just TURNED INTO A FUCKING WOLF, _Seth._

He was frustrated. Beyond frustrated. New hot tears pricked at his eyes and he forced them to stay back. He wouldn't cry. Not over something this...This _stupid_.

"Is...My sister like me, too?" he found himself asking.

"Yeah. All of us are."

"Oh." He told himself to shut up after that. It was this voice that had caused the death of Harry Clearwater. This voice was never meant to be heard again.

Paul sighed, closing his eyes for a second and then opening them again. He instantly felt for the kid. He'd just lost his dad, and now he'd just phased for the first time. He wouldn't wish that on his worst enemy. Paul had lost his dad, too, and knew how Seth felt. He suddenly felt a certain bond with him; Seth had just become like his little brother and he vowed to protect him at all costs.

"You want me to walk with you home? Jake can tell your sis and mom what happened to you," he offered. Seth didn't answer. Just began walking out of the forest. Paul sighed and glanced at the other guys before following him.

Seth was fast. Almost as fast as Leah, even while walking.

"Kid, wait up!" He jogged to meet his pace. "I know you just came from your pops funeral and all, but-" Paul stopped talking when he heard the kid sniff. He hated crying. Hated it. Leave the tears for the pillow, that's how he was. But something was different about seeing Leah's little brother cry. This kid was family. And family meant...You cared for each other. No matter how young, old, or annoying they could be.

"Bro..." Paul scratched the back of his head, unsure of what to do. "I'm sorry I brought that up, man. Uhh..." Seth turned and continued on his way, quicker this time. Paul let him go.

Even he knew when people needed to be left alone.

**Okay, so you all know the drill. Review, please!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for the reviews and follows and favorites, guys! I really do appreciate it. Alright, on with Chapter 2!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Two

Two weeks of missed school add up.

That meant extra detentions, homework, and bro time with his bros that Seth missed.

But walking into school that gloomy Tuesday morning, it was different. He wasn't like he used to be. Now he was a...New and improved Seth. Well, not so much on the _new _or _improved _part. But...Well, it was just hard to explain.

The halls were already deserted when he walked in. Because he was late. That meant he had to get a slip from the office.

He wrote his name and explanation slowly and neatly, taking his time on the _r _in Clearwater.

_Missed ride _he wrote.

He turned it over so Mrs. Bugle could sign it. After she did, he took it and picked up his backpack.

"Have a good day, Mr. Clearwater," she smiled at him. He just turned away and left the office, going down the hallway towards homeroom.

He walked slowly, wanting to prolong the time until he had to see all of the other students again. But when he saw the door at the end of the hall, he sighed and kept going. Taking a deep breath, he opened it and walked in.

The class was laughing as Mr. Lacroix talked vividly about something that he had done when he was younger. When Seth walked more into the classroom, it got quiet. Students began to whisper and look down, not meeting his eyes.

"Seth!" Mr. Lacroix exclaimed. "So great to see you again." The new wolf handed the teacher his note and he nodded. "It's okay, it's alright. We all have our rough days. Take a seat. I was just explaining my adventure in skydiving to the other students." Seth shoved his hands into his pockets and walked to the back of the room, looking at his feet.

_Left. Left. Left, right, left..._

Damn, he was funny. And he would've laughed.

Yeah. Would've.

He sat down and ran a hand through his hair. The rest of the kids returned their attention to the teacher again, smiles overtaking their faces as he got to the climax. A collective laughter erupted then, and Seth looked at his desk.

"And here's the best part..." Mr. Lacroix continued, but Seth zoned out. He had been up on patrol yesterday, and was pretty tired. Not to mention the extra hours that he stayed awake in his room, thinking about his father and all he had said to him.

He pulled down his sleeves and sighed again. A white piece of paper landed on his desk and he stared at it, briefly wondering how it had gotten there. Then, slowly, he opened it.

_Hi :)_

He looked up with a small frown on his face. He glanced around the room, then his eyes landed on Sierra. She smiled and waved at him and he just looked back down at her piece of paper before slipping it into his backpack. He laid his head down on the desk after that, staring at the front of the room with boredom.

The rest of the day went pretty much like that. People would pass him notes saying 'hi' or 'been a while' and he'd just look at them and put it in his backpack afterwards. But it was especially hard when he saw Mike and Shane in the period he had before lunch.

According to Sam, he wasn't allowed to hang out with them anymore.

What kind of messed up shit was that? He'd been friends with those two _way _longer than he'd been hanging around the Pack.

He saw them in the hallway right in front of Spanish. He panicked and ducked into the bathroom, running a hand through his hair.

What would he tell them? What would he do? How would they treat him when he ignored them?

Seth frowned. He wouldn't ignore them. Those two were his friends - his bros. He couldn't do that to them.

He left the bathroom, continuing the way to Spanish class.

"And there he is. My, he's lookin handsome today, isn't he Shane?"

"I could say the same, Mike." They laughed before giving him big grins. "It's been _hell _without you here, bro."

"Complete hell."

"Yeah, don't leave us again like that, man." Seth looked at the ceiling with a small smile and shrugged. "Come on. Let's go." The three walked inside and sat down at their respective seats. Class was boring as usual, except it seemed like the teacher was nicer to Seth than she used to be.

Weird, right?

They walked to lunch as usual, but when they got close to the door, Seth heard his name being called. He stopped and sighed.

"What?" Mike asked, stopping, too. Seth shook his head and turned around, leaving his two friends to call after him. He ignored them and turned the corner, where his sister and the rest of the guys were waiting.

"What'd Sam tell you?" Leah asked. Seth just shrugged and leaned against the lockers, running a hand through his hair. He folded his arms across his chest and looked the other way, not wanting to deal with everyone at that moment.

Leah sighed and knitted her brows together, exchanging a look with Jacob. Her brother wouldn't talk to her...Or anyone else for that matter. She didn't know why, but she wanted it to end. She missed hearing his annoying little voice everywhere. Hearing him brag about all the girls he'd hooked up with. Yeah, she actually missed that.

She wanted to see him smile again. And hear his laugh. Just because it had sounded so much like Harry's. She missed her dad. Seth looked like him. So much like him, it made _her _sad to look into his face. It wasn't a wonder why Sue would stand at Seth's door while he was sleeping, a hand clamped over her mouth so that he wouldn't hear her crying.

Seth turned his head, meeting Leah's eyes. She took in a shaky breath and smiled at him. He pushed off the lockers and stood there, waiting for everyone.

"Okay. We're going off campus for lunch today. Mom's diner. My treat," she sang, looking at everyone else. The guys cheered and the girls giggled and gave Leah high fives. "Just don't get crazy. Come on."

As the rule, students of La Push High get fifty minutes lunch every day. And, sophomores and above were allowed to enjoy lunch off campus if they pleased.

Seth wasn't pleased. He'd rather stay here for lunch, thank you. But, no. Leah just _had _to call all the shots, didn't she?

Leah glanced at her brother in the rearview mirror as she drove. He stared out the window, his head resting in the palm of his hand. It wasn't like she wanted to drag him everywhere she went, cause, really? What person wants to take their little brother everywhere that they go?

But she had to look out for him, especially now. With their father's passing, his phasing, _and _his panic attacks coming back, that made for a very worried Leah. It was scary at night. She couldn't sleep, worrying that he'd have one while she was in the next room over.

It had happened once. She was fifteen, he was thirteen. The two were home alone as their parents were out that night. She was just getting to sleep when she felt something was wrong. In the pit of her stomach, she had felt it. But she ignored it and went to sleep. And then she heard someone next to her bed. They were breathing funny. She rolled over and saw the frightened look in her baby brother's eyes.

"Leah, I can't breathe," he'd choked out. Then he fell to the ground. She was still half asleep, but in shock. She watched for almost two minutes as her brother struggled to breathe. And then - finally - she sprang into action, trying to find ways to calm him down. When nothing worked, she called 911. That had been the most logical answer to the problem then. She was crying, he was crying...It was a mess. And then the ambulance came and they had fixed him all up. The attacks stopped after that, but the experience had plagued Leah ever since.

Now that they had come back, she was always scared that they'd have a repeat of that night. Maybe Sue would leave, and Leah would be on patrol...Seth would be home alone and scared, not knowing what to do. What if he...?

She gripped the steering wheel tightly, not wanting to think about that. She'd already lost her dad, she wasn't going to lose Seth, too. As long as she was here, that wasn't going to happen.

"Here!" Claire exclaimed excitedly. She giggled and tugged Quil out of the car before Leah had even turned it off.

Inside, everyone found seats together. A bunch of kids from school were there, too, already staring and whispering about the odd group by the windows.

"Hey, sweetie. Don't tell me. Jake, Quil, and Embry want burgers. Leah, Panini. Paul and Jared are chicken, and the other girls will be a...Salad, right?"

"Yup!" Claire nodded.

"Uh, actually, can I have a burger, too? Please?" Kim asked.

"Sure," Sue laughed. "Kaden...Kaden, Kaden, Kaden...You look like a chicken person."

"Read my mind, Mrs. C," he grinned at her.

"And Seth, you want...What would you like?" Sue looked down at her son. He just smiled grimly at her and shrugged. "Anything, huh? I'll make you a burger, too." She ruffled up his hair and disappeared into the kitchen. "I'll be back with drinks!" she called.

"Okay, so we need to establish patrols today. It _was _my night, but...I have things to do," Jared said.

"What kind of things?" Paul raised an eyebrow.

"Kim kind of things," Claire giggled. Kim rolled her eyes but blushed, anyway.

"It's not my fault she declared our three month anniversary today!" Jared exclaimed.

"Aww..." Claire cooed. "And he has something special planned for her, too. How _sweet_!" She looked at Quil.

"What?"

"When're we gonna celebrate ours?"

"Whenever I..." he looked at his imprint. "Whenever you want to, Claire."

"Okay! Friday, then. Don't plan anything." She smiled and pecked his cheek.

"Leah, don't start," Jacob held up his hands in defense.

"Don't start what?" she asked innocently. "All this anniversary crap? Please." She snorted a laugh, which made Seth smile a bit.

Her laugh had always been humorous to him.

Leah caught the smile on her brother's face and it instantly made her day. She grinned and leaned forward.

"So you know now that you're a wolf and all, Bro-Bro...You get to begin your quest on finding your soul mate." The smile on Seth's face went away and he just stared at her.

"Leah, that's supposed to be rare," Paul said.

"Supposed to be rare my ass. There's already three down. And now we're only left with me, Kaden, Paul, and Seth over there," Embry said. "Any one of us could go today...Maybe tomorrow...Who knows?"

"Yeah. Right," Paul rolled his eyes.

"Mhm. Cause Paulie isn't exactly the kind of person I could see being tied down to just one girl," Leah said with a nod.

"You don't think I could commit?"

"I'm not saying _that_-"

"She's just saying that she can't picture it," Claire said. Leah nodded, agreeing.

"Huh," Paul quirked a brow and sat back in his chair, ending the conversation. Drinks came, then food, and much laughter after that. Seth stayed quiet, though. Only eating a few bites of his lunch.

"Come on. We only got ten minutes to get back and I gotta go talk to Ms. Sanders before class," Kim said, standing up. Seth shot her a look of annoyance: Kim had always aggravated him. She cared too much about grades and college and crap like that. It got on his nerves.

"It's not like the old bat will go anywhere," he found himself hissing at her. He crossed his arms and looked out the window. The group got quiet, surprised at his comment. "You can see her after school or something, she'll always be in that same spot in 204, drooling away on her desk." That part was mostly for him, but the others heard it, too. He looked at them, and instantly regretted lashing out. That had been a dick move...

Then again, when was he _not _a dick?

He sighed and closed his eyes for a second.

"Sorrrrr-yyyy. Okay?" he raised his eyebrows. "You don't gotta stare, damn." Seth breathed out roughly and looked at Kim, his arms still crossed.

The Pack looked exchanged looks, ignoring the chime of the bell signaling that another customer had come in. Everyone stood to leave, murmuring to each other. Seth blew out another breath and stood slowly, too. As he was walking towards the door, he slammed into someone.

"Hey! Watch it, idiot! I'm walkin' here!" a girl said after he'd bumped into her. Still looking down, Seth rolled my eyes and tried to continue on his own way. He felt something grab a hold of his shoulder and he stopped, starting to get annoyed by this person...Whoever she was. "Yo! I was _talking _to you!" the girl screeched, a little bit of her New York accent coming out. That made Seth even more annoyed than he already was. He growled and turned to face her. But then he stopped.  
Holy _shit_, she was beautiful.  
And he wasn't just saying that...Er...Thinking it. Whatever.

Her black hair was so long - to the middle of her back. Her eyes were a piercing blue color and her skin was... It looked so soft and... Rubbable.

Yeah. Hm. Rubbable.  
He suddenly felt as if someone had just took a trowel and planted him to the earth. He felt roots dig themselves into the ground and spread out. He could feel himself basking her light. Her sunlight. She was his sun, and he needed her. More than water. More than 'care.' He needed her to live.  
He wanted to know her. Like... _know _her know her. He wanted to hear her laugh and see her smile and hear her say his name...  
Hell, he wanted to know _her_ name.  
No. He needed to. Because she was his newfound source of life. And because... Because-  
"Are you stupid? I was talking to you, asshole!" she screeched, bringing him back to reality. Seth felt a grin spread across his face.  
She called him an asshole... How cute was that?  
"Hel_lo_!" She crossed her arms. Did she want him to say something?

_What do you want me to say, beautiful? I'd say anything. _Anything_ for you!  
_ "Seth," someone hissed. "We gotta get back." They placed their hand on his shoulder but Seth roughly yanked it away. The girl stared him down as he contemplated on what to say to her.

Say _some_thing, dumbass!

Seth felt himself begin to drool and his tongue flopped out the side of his mouth as he began to melt under her sheer beauty.

On second thought...Don't say anything.

He smiled wider and felt a wolfish howl begin to rumble in his throat when the right side of her mouth tug up in a cross between a grimace and a small smile. She brushed her hair back with her hand and smirked just as Seth felt himself being dragged away.

"Wait!" he yelled, reaching his hands out to try and take her perfectly shaped hands into his. The door to the diner closed and he thrashed around, wanting to get back onto the other side of it to see her.

He growled and felt anger bubbled up inside of him.

"Get the fuck off of me!" he yelled. He tore himself away from his kidnappers and turned around. "What the flipping fucking hell!?"

"Bro..." Jacob breathed. Seth stared at him.

"You just...You just imprinted," Paul whispered. Seth kept his angry face on, not letting it falter one bit. Even though really, on the inside, he was jumping for joy like a teenage girl that had just found out that she would be able to meet Justin Beiber and One Direction all in the same day.

He was happy that he'd imprinted...Ec_static _even. Because...Well, he didn't exactly know why, but he _did _know that he was fucking happy and it felt damn good.

Seth smiled to himself and looked out in the direction he had come from, wiping the leftover saliva from his face.

He had imprinted.

_Im_printed.

And he...He...

He slobbered all over himself. In front of...Of...

Oh, _hell_.

0000000000000000000000000000 0

She had to get out of this place. She had to get out _now_.

This place was torture. It rained, it was dark, and it was cold. Nothing like her beloved Manhattan. La Push couldn't even hold a _match _to her old neighborhood.

_Well it's your own fault,_ Jazz_, _she thought to herself.

Yeah. Her own fault.

_Ah, shut the fuck up, will ya?_

Jazmyn had stealthily managed to sneak her grandmother's car from the driveway. If she was going to have to drive five hundred days and nights just to get back to the Big Apple, she would.

She had to be driving at least a gazillion miles over the speed limit. It was raining and she was freaked.

Was that a _bear _she had just seen back there?

She shook her head and rolled her eyes.

Couldn't be. That'd be crazy, right?

A flash of lightning and then thunder made her jump in her seat and hit her head on the ceiling.

"Shit," she muttered.

_Ew. I really gotta stop it with the fucking cussing, _she thought to herself. _Definitely not lady like._

She rubbed her head and glanced down.

"Dammit." She dropped her map. She glanced up at the road before reaching down for it. "Almost...Ahh..." Her fingers brushed the top of the paper and she leaned down further.

Meanwhile, Seth ran through the forest on all four of his sandy paws. He phased and continued running, hopping into a pair of jeans. He pulled on his flannel shirt, not bothering to button it up.

He was late. How could he be so late?

He looked down, trying to find the hole that went with the button at the bottom.

_Ugh...Why did the things have to be so...Damn...Urgh!_

In her car, Jazmyn was still trying to grab the map.

"Almost got it..." She grinned as the tips of her fingers caught a hold of the crumpled paper. "Ha!" She sat up and looked out her windshield. "AH!" she screeched. Someone burst through the forest and she slammed on her breaks just as she hit them. Whoever it was fell onto the hood of her car and slid off, landing on the wet ground.

Jazmyn, panting and scared for her life, stuck her head out the window.

"_Holy_...!"

She sat back down in her chair after taking a look at the unmoving body lying in front of her car. She listened for sirens, although she was sure that the police couldn't have heard of an accident already.

She pressed the back of her head to the headrest of her seat, closing her eyes and breathing in and out of through her nose and mouth.

_I killed him. I killed him, _she thought, a shiver going down her spine. She reopened her eyes and leaned forward in her seat to get a better look out of her windshield at the guy she'd just brutally run over with her grandmother's rusty old Chevy.

_Holy fuck, I killed him._

She sat back in her seat and bit her thumbnail, a nervous habit she'd picked up over the years. She ran her hand through her hair a few more times. She squealed quietly and kicked the gas pedal, making the car shoot forward a few feet.

"AH!" she screeched, squeezing her eyes shut. She could almost feel his skin on the car and she gulped.

It was official. She killed him.

No matter how many time she told her body to get out of the car and pull him out from under it, she stayed frozen and glued to her seat.

She leaned forward again to get a better look out of her windshield and then flew back into her seat when he sat up. He looked down the road then turned to look at her. No. He stared at her. He was staring at her! Full-on _staring_!

He stood up slowly and his mouth dropped a little. At that moment Jazmyn recognized him as the Asshole from earlier.

She gulped and rolled up the windows.

She wanted to yell at him that she took back everything that she had said. She would tell him that he was cute and hot and sexy and that he had to be the most good looking guy she had seen in all her life. She took back all of the bad things she said about him. All of it!

But, of course, her mouth didn't cooperate with her brain. It was dry and Krazy Glued shut.

Jazmyn heard herself whimper as he took a step forward.

_He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me, _she thought.

He took another step and then started walking closer and closer to her side of the car. She stared straight ahead in panic, shock, and fear.

_Holy _FUCK_, he's going to kill me!_

**Review.**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	3. Chapter 3

**Yay! Chapter Three! Thanks for the reviews, people, it really motivates me. And, as vain as it sounds, I want MORE! Please! Review, review, REVIEW. I love 'em!**

**Without further ado, Chapter Three!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Three

Jazmyn stared, wide-eyed, for a good ten seconds at Seth before her body finally (finally!) took action.

In those ten seconds, she took in his fit and muscular physique, making a note about how his hair cutely stuck up in every-

Whoa, whoa, _whoa_.

_Cute_?!

Putting the car into reverse, Jazmyn let out a piercing shriek. She pressed down so hard on the gas pedal, she was sure she had broken it. That added to her terror, so her screams continued.

Seth's face went from total awe to panic to pain and to panic again in a groundbreaking total of three seconds.

He was yelling at her - trying to tell her something. But she was screaming too loud to hear what he was trying to say.

Suddenly Jazmyn jerked forward, the force of impact on a hard object making her head hit the windshield.

That's_ the last time I don't wear a seat belt, _she thought to herself. She let go of the steering wheel and her hands flew to her head. She moaned, struggling to keep her eyes open as the world began to spin around her. She pulled away her hand, blood and pieces of glass swirling in her eyes.

She saw his face in the window one more time before her vision clouded over with dark clouds.

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The first thing Jazmyn felt was damp.

_Wah...?_

The second thing she felt was warmth. It was almost too hot...But just right. It made her skin feel weird and clammy, though, and she sat up slowly. Taking in her surroundings, she saw that she was in the woods.

Her head darted left and right, wondering how on earth she had gotten in the _woods _in the first place. Looking in front of her, she saw a small fire. She stared at the dancing flames for a second before focusing in on the person on the other side. She gulped.

_The Asshole..._

He was looking down at the fire, poking a stick at it. Jazmyn started to scoot away slowly, in hopes to get away.

"I see you...Y'know," Seth said quietly, making Jazmyn jump. A small smile graced his face and he poked some more at the fire. Jazmyn ran a hand through her hair, suddenly embarrassed by him seeing her. She knitted her brows together when she felt her jacket and the butt part of her jeans. They were wet. She felt the ground.

Wet.

_Well, _duh_, Jazmyn._

"I didn't have anything to clean your head with. But I used my shirt to wipe away the blood. It didn't look too bad, but I dunno...I'm no doctor...As you can probably tell," Seth continued. He felt stupid for being the one to keep on talking. She hadn't even said anything.

Hell, she probably thought that he was some sort of...Damn, he didn't know. Some sort of weird creeper. What with the staring while she was in her car thing and the drooling at his mom's diner earlier...

Seth frowned and threw the stick into the fire, trying to forget about that.

He hoped that _she _had forgotten about that.

Jazmyn touched her forehead and winced, knowing that there was a bruise there. She felt a small cut, but other than that, she felt fine.

She took another look at the boy across the fire, curious about him. He sat up and she stifled a girly squeal when she saw his six pack. His button up was open and the jeans he was wearing were loose, but tight e_nough_.

Seth glanced at his imprint and caught her staring. Their eyes met and she quickly jerked her head to the right. Seth cocked his own and half smiled.

"Y'know, I didn't know that you could talk. I thought...That all you knew how to do was drool and grin," Jazmyn blurted. She mentally face palmed herself.

Nice going, Jazz.

"Oh. Yeah..." Seth looked down.

"But it's okay! Cause...I...Kinda thought it was...Cute?" Jazmyn cringed at her word choice.

Bitch, just stop talking now.

"Yeah?" Seth asked quietly.

"...Y-yeah," Jazmyn answered nervously.

_Quit talking now! Get up and run! He's a fucking killer for all you know!_

She slid back an inch.

"Well...I feel bad for...Y'know, scaring you back there," Seth said after a second.

"Oh?"

Seth smiled a bit, "Yeah." He looked at the bruise on her forehead then back down quickly, beginning to shake. He growled and Jazmyn gulped with a slight jump.

She slid back another inch.

Seth took in deep breaths, running his hand through his cropped hair. He was calm after a few seconds and took another look at his imprint.

He liked that. _Imprint._

"...Do you...Mind telling me your...name?" he asked slowly, not wanting to scare her into another injury.

Jazmyn slid back two inches.

"Umm...Can I hear yours first?" she asked.

"Seth. Clearwater," Seth answered, smiling at her.

"Oh. Nice."

"Your turn."

"Huh?"

"Your _name_."

"Ah...Ah-I..." Jazmyn slid back another inch. Then two more. Then three more. Seth knitted his brows together. "Uhh..."

"Are you trying to sneak away?" he somewhat smirked at her.

"...No."

"Yeah you are. I'm not stupid," Seth smiled and cocked his head to the left. Jazmyn blew out a puff of air, making her bangs fly up and out of her face.

She closed her eyes and blurted, "Just do it. Do it now."

"What?"

"Kill me. That's why you brought me here right? Come on do it. Pull that knife out of your pocket and slice me up. Slit my throat. Then burn my remains so no one can find the evidence." Jazmyn shook with fear, thinking about all the terrible things he could do to her.

"Umm...I'm not gonna kill you," Seth chuckled a bit. Jazmyn popped one eye open with a slight grimace.

"You're not?" she asked slowly. She sounded almost disappointed. Seth smiled and shook his head. "So you're not gonna stab me? Shoot me?"

"No."

"Choke me?"

"No."

"Throw me in the ocean with a weight strapped to my ankle so I can't swim out and I eventually drown?"

"...No."

"Tie me to a skewer and spin me around over the fire like a rotisserie chicken?"

"Umm...I'm pretty sure that falls under the category of _killing_. Something that I've already said I wasn't going to do to you."

"...Oh." Jazmyn opened her other eye, looking down in embarrassment. "I feel so stupid," she muttered to herself. Seth chuckled. "You heard that?"

"Yeah." Seth shrugged. Jazmyn narrowed her eyes and then smiled after a bit.

"Jazmyn Anderson."

"Huh?"

"That's my name, ass...I mean. _Seth Clearwater_." Jazmyn laughed once. She looked on as Seth grinned, his face almost as bright as the fire separating the two. She brushed her hair back and then held her hands out towards the flames, seeking warmth. She shivered a bit.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Not long. About twenty minutes." Seth shrugged, still grinning. Jazmyn stared at him for a few seconds before shaking her aching head. She mentally groaned and outwardly shivered again. "What's the matter? Are you cold?" Seth asked, suddenly worried.

Jazmyn didn't have a chance to answer before she was engulfed in his huge - and very warm - arms. He took off the shirt he was wearing and wrapped it around her shoulders. Then his arms were around her again.

Jazmyn's eyes were wide with surprise. She tried not to think about how his shirt was on her shoulders...How his arms were wrapped tightly around her body...How...

How _close _she was to a shirtless man...Whom she barely even _knew_!

Yeah. Keyword: _tried_.

Jazmyn snuggled closer to Seth with a soft sigh and a quick thanks to the higher power for putting her in this situation.

Seth stiffened before relaxing. It felt...Right to have her there. Like...The space against his body was the vacant spot reserved just for her. She was the missing puzzle piece, and after searching for so long, he'd finally found it.

Seth looked down, noticing that she was sleeping. Gently, he pressed her deeply into his side. He could almost hear a soft _click _as she snuggled closer. He smiled.

She fit perfectly.

He pressed his lips softly to the top of her head and pulled away after a second. He ran his fingers through a few strands of her hair. Soft. So, _so _soft.

He wanted to test his theory of her rubbable skin, seeing her little dimpled cheek under her hair. He lifted his thumb and moved her bangs behind-

"So _this _is where you've been!"

Seth's head shot up and he growled sharply at Paul and his sister.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed. Leah walked closer and Paul laughed.

"This is almost cute," he cooed mockingly, making a face as well.

"Shut up, Paul."

"Shut-" Seth stopped, hearing Leah steal the words he was about to say right out of his mouth. She looked back at him, then at the girl in his arms. Jazmyn stirred a bit, and Seth looked back down at her. She relaxed again.

"Sam says you got three hours. For missing the meeting." She returned her eyes back to her brother. "It was really important, Seth. Why didn't you go?" she asked, a little concerned. Seth didn't answer, deciding to continue gazing at his imprint. He shrugged.

"Yeah. Okay, well you gotta start now. Sam's waiting," Paul said. The new wolf tightened his hold on Jazmyn, reluctant to leave. He waited for the hurried footfalls of his sister and fellow wolf to leave before he finally prepared himself to phase.

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Jazmyn opened her eyes slowly. She let her eyes adjust to the long row of trees before they opened up all the way. She sat up with a slight gasp and ran a hand through her long hair, a nervous habit she'd picked up over the years.

The fire had long ago been put out and she suddenly realized how cold she was. And then...

"Seth?" she asked. Jazmyn looked to her left and to her right. "Seth Clearwater...?!" she called. She stood up and folded her arms across her chest. "This isn't how it's supposed to end!" she yelled. "We sleep together _once _and then you leave me?!"

Bitch, just stop talking now.

_Yeah, I know. You sound crazy, Jazz._

She looked down at the button up she was wearing. Looking back at the trees in front of her she called, "You forgot your shirt!"

No answer.

Of course.

Why did this always happen to her?!

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"Seth just talk to me!" Sue cried. Seth stood up from the table and started up the stairs. Sue touched his arm and he yanked it away, running up the rest of the stairs two at a time. "Sweetie..."

He walked into his room and slammed his door shut. Two seconds later it opened again, revealing his mother.

"Baby, you know you can tell me about anything. You know that," Sue said, trying to sound soothing. Seth clenched his fists together. "I know when something is bothering you. And...Yes, it's a hard time right now. For all of us, but...Just...What's wrong?"

He almost said 'everything' but he just clenched his fists even tighter together. He closed his eyes trying to calm his nerves.

If Jazmyn was here, she would probably be able to calm him.

But, no.

She wasn't. She was probably...Driving off somewhere right now. Away from him.

Seth's heart clenched and he kept back a sharp growl.

If that wasn't enough, the grief of his father's death was still fresh on his mind. It hurt every day to think of him. To think...

He opened his eyes and felt a few small tears prick at his eyes. He sniffed a bit and turned away from his mother.

"Seth..." Sue placed her hands on her son's shoulders. "Honey, if there's anything I can-"

"There's nothing you can do," he whispered.

"B-"

"There's nothing you can do, Mom!" he yelled. He whipped around and growled at her. He stopped short and his eyes widened. He clapped a hand over his mouth and stepped back.

"M..." He frowned and then his eyes went wide again. A few tears broke free from his eyes and he squeezed them shut - as tightly as he could.

"It's fine. It's okay," Sue said quietly. Seth felt her arms wrap around his torso slowly, then she held on tightly to him. He still had his hand over his mouth and he didn't return the hug. He didn't say anything.

But soon, it became too hard to resist wrapping his arms around his mother. It had been forever since he had hugged her. Forever.

Ever-so-slowly, he removed his hand from his mouth. He reached his arms around his mother's small frame. After that, he laid his chin on the top of her head. He squeezed her tighter, as if to squeeze more comfort out of her body.

"My boy. My baby boy," Sue whispered. Seth buried his face into her hair and let a few more tears slip from his eyes.

"Mom?" Seth asked, his voice cracking a bit.

"Mhm?"

"I...I have something to tell you."

"You've imprinted, honey. I know. It's wonderful," Sue smiled and looked up at her son. Seth shook his head and her smile faltered. "You didn't-"

"No. No, I did. It's just..." Seth looked at the ceiling.

"Anything, sweetie. You can-"

"I killed Dad."

**Review, review, REVIEWWW! The fate of the next chapter depends on your feedback!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four! Thanks again for the reviews, people! My e-mail was SWAMPED with everyone favoriting and following my story...CRAZY! But great!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Four

"Oh, thank God!" Miss Pocket rushed forward to hug her granddaughter. Jazmyn froze, dazed for a second by the suddenness of her embrace. A police officer sat on their couch and two more stood by the hallway towards the bathroom. "Where in God's name have you been?!" Miss Pocket clutched Jazmyn's shoulders.

"I went for a drive and-"

Jazmyn's grandmother never had time to wait for questions to be answered. She was always in a hurry; always had to be on time. She cut Jazmyn off and turned to one of the officers.

"Thank you for all your help, Charlie," she said, shaking hands with him as he stood.

"Anytime, Naomi." He nodded at Jazmyn and then left. The last two policemen exchanged similar departures before going out the door as well.

"Jazmyn Stefani Christina Anderson," Miss Pocket crossed her arms and said firmly.

"And then there was this-"

"Did you think I wouldn't notice Harvey missing? I may be old, but I'm not stupid, young lady."

"-guy and he-"

"Oh, Lord, your head!" Miss Pocket's hands fluttered around Jazmyn's forehead to move her bangs away. She gasped when she saw the cut and bruise. "What on earth were you _doing_?!"

"-forgot his-"

"Up to your room now. I'll come up to get you when lunch is ready. Up, up, up." Miss Pocket pushed Jazmyn up the first two stairs. Waiting for her on the fifth step was her younger cousin, Heaven.

"She sure was mad," she said.

"Shut up."

"I didn't tell her anything, honest!"

"Yeah, I know," Jazmyn sighed. She plopped down onto her bed and stared up at the ceiling, lacing her hands over her stomach. Heaven sat down next to her, staring down at her cousin and placing her chin in the palms of her hands.

"So what were you doing?" she asked. "And where did you put Harvey? Did you get carjacked, or something?"

Harvey was the name of Miss Pocket's beloved car.

The beloved car that Jazmyn had wrecked.

_Accidentally._

Accidentally.

"Sure. Let's go with that." Jazmyn smiled. She started to nonchalantly finger with one of the buttons on Seth Clearwater's shirt, still gazing up at the ceiling. Heaven gasped and moved to her knees, placing her hands on her hips. She leaned forward, her eyes narrowing.

"You were with a boy!" she breathed accusingly, her eyes wide now. Jazmyn sat up. "You _were_, weren't you?!"

Jazmyn bit her lip and looked as innocently as she could to her left, a nervous habit she'd picked up over the years.

"I knew it!" Heaven thrust her finger at Jazmyn's face, her brown eyes shining.

Heaven sure knew how to state the obvious.

Or...Jazmyn was just a bad secret hider.

_Eh...Let's go with the first one._

"Tell me! Tell me about _all _of it!" Heaven plopped back onto her butt, putting her chin back in the palms of her hands.

Heaven was so boy crazy, it was ridiculous. She wanted to know about each and every boy that Jazmyn encountered with on a daily basis. She wanted..._Needed _to know. Cause, well, when she got to be fifteen, she would apply the knowledge into her own life.

But for right now, she had three years to learn everything she could.

Heaven leaned forward, her eyes widening with each inch she moved. Jazmyn pushed her back.

"There's really nothing to tell."

"Oh, _please_, Jazz."

"Well...I kind of...Ran him over with Harvey-"

"You _what_?!"

"It's okay! It's okay! He's fine and all. And then-"

"He gave you that weird hickey on your forehead? I mean, hickeys pretty cool and all, but if you ask _me_, that's a _really _weird place to-"

"Heaven! Shut _up_."

"I was just say-"

"It's not a hickey!"

"...Oh."

"He kind of freaked me out so I slammed on the gas and went flying back and I ran into something and then my head hit the windshield."

"Hence the hickey."

"It's _not _a hickey!"

"Okay..." Heaven made a face that showed that she didn't believe her.

"There's no question, Heav!" Jazmyn moved her bangs out of the way. "As you can see from the red _cut_, it is _not_ - I repeat _not_ - a fucking hickey!"

"Okay, okay, I believe you. Gol_ly_," Heaven said, holding her hands up in defense. "One more thing."

"What?" Jazmyn asked tiredly.

"Push your hair back." Confused, Jazmyn did as she was told.

"What...?"

"Oh, nothing. Just checking for hickeys."

"_Heaven_!"

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Leah's breath caught in her throat. She didn't want to believe it. She wasn't _going _to believe it.

From her face on the side of the hallway bookshelf, she leaned towards her brother's room where she had just heard Seth say that he had killed their father.

What? Seth? Seth Tyler Clearwater...? He was talking about the same person, right? Surely, Seth T. _Clearwater_ had no part in the bullet that had found itself in Harry's forehead.

Back in his room, Seth moved away from his mother's embrace and walked to the window to look out.

"You did..._What_?" Sue breathed, confused. And scared. Yeah. Scared.

"You heard me."

She heard him. Damn right she did.

Sue felt like throwing up. She pressed a hand to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.

"Y-"

"He was like-"

"'He?'"

"Like...I tried to wrestle the gun from his hand...And Dad...The safety was off and the gun fired. It hit him. Dad." Sue, still trying to make some sense of what happened, looked down, pressing her fingers to her temples. "I was the one who pulled it, Mom. I pulled the trigger. It was my fault. I killed him."

"Seth..." Sue sighed and ran forward, wrapping her arms around her son's shoulders. "You did nothing-"

"Yeah I did! I did something! And now someone else paid for it. You don't get it, Mom! I'll forever have to live with this...There's no way I can say sorry...No way I can...No way I can take back..." He started to cry again. "The things I _said_. Mom, it was..." He couldn't bring himself to finish.

"Seth, it wasn't your fault. None of it is your fault, okay? You tried to save him and that's what matters."

"I should be in jail," Seth whispered.

"You didn't do anything!" Sue screamed. "Do you hear me? You did nothing! It was pure accident that gun was shot, got that? _Never _think otherwise. _Never_."

"M-"

"_Never_, Seth."

"But...It's made me feel so guilty for the past few weeks. I get this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach, like...I can't describe it. But it makes me feel so guilty, knowing that I coulda...I could of...I had him, Mom. I had him."

"I know you did, baby. I know." Sue hugged him tightly, trying to take his pain away. Seth sniffed and squeezed his eyes shut again.

Leah bit her lip to keep her own self from crying. She remembered coming home that day. She had walked in with Jacob and Embry...

_"I can tell he's getting close, though. Like-" Leah stopped completely. She smelled blood before she saw it. Her breathing hitched and she pushed open the door to her house. Her feet felt glued to the floor as she took in the scene in front of her. _

_ "Holy..." Embry breathed, walking forward a bit. "H-Harry?"_

_ No answer. He was on the ground, on his back. His cold, lifeless eyes stared straight up into the ceiling. Leah clapped a hand over her mouth, but didn't cry. Not then._

_ A few feet away, someone was laid on their side. They weren't moving either. Leah, Embry, or Jacob had any clue to who he was._

_ They did know that he was dead._

_ "Seth. Where's Seth?" Leah snapped out of her trance and sprang into action. She ran around the downstairs of her house, leaving Embry and Jacob to stare horrifically at the scene before them. _

_ Leah didn't have to look long. She found him sitting behind the couch. He had both his hands on the sides of his head staring forward at the wall. His breathing was labored and he took in huge gasps of air. _

_ "No..." Leah fell to his side and took him into her arms. "I'm here now." _

_ "D-d-d-d-" Seth took in two more gulps of air and coughed. "Ah...I...L-"_

_ "Shut up," Leah whispered sharply. "Look at me. Got it? Look at me." She took his hands and massaged them in hers. "It's o_kay_."_

_ "D-d-dah..._ed_," Seth breathed. His eyes drifted to his left. Leah forced his head back to look at her. _

_ "At _me_, Baby Bro. At _me_." Tears sprang to her eyes and her voice started to get raspy. "At me. J-Just look at me." She started to cry. "Everything will be okay if you just _look at me_." She let out a sob, but held back the second one. _

_ "He killed him, Lee. I couldn't..." Seth's breathing went back to somewhat normal and Leah squeezed him tightly. _

_ "It'll be okay. You'll be okay," she kept whispering. She started to cry more. "You'll be alright." The advice wasn't for Seth, no matter how hard she wanted it to be for him. It was for her. She kept repeating it. "You'll be alright. You'll be okay." _

Leah repeated that to herself in her head over and over again, digging her nails into the wall. It wasn't until she felt something fall off the end of her nose that she realized she was crying. She quickly wiped it away and ran downstairs.

She was still hurting, she knew that. But she had to stay strong for her brother and mom. And when you're supposed to be strong, you couldn't cry.

She _wouldn't _cry.

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Seth walked down the stairs, set on getting out before his dad did.

"And where do you think _you're _going?"

Shit.

"Can a kid leave for school without his old man dogging him all the time?"

"We need to talk."

"Whatever." Seth reached for the door again.

"Stop," Harry said sternly. Seth did. "We _need _to _talk_. You have time. Sit down."

"No. I'll stand here."

"Fine." Harry gazed down at his youngest child, and his eyes softened. "You've changed, son."

"The only thing about me that's changed is my voice," Seth answered with an eye roll.

"Sure. Okay, that's something physical. But I'm talking about just _you _Seth. You used to be a nice, outgoing all-around good kid to be around. Now you're...Now you're-"

"Now I'm going to be late for school," Seth finished.

"Stop, stop, _stop_. Just _stop_. For once will you be respectful and listen to me?!"

"I already did and it was a waste of my time!"

"I've raised you better than this. You know my rules about respectfulness to those older _and _younger than you, son. Do you need to be grounded again? Until I feel like you understand them?" Harry asked. Seth's mouth dropped.

"The fuck! You just-"

"You know how I feel about cursing! There'll be no cursing in this household!" Harry yelled. Seth quirked a brow. "Seth...! You know the rules!"

"Well your rules are stupid! _You're _stupid!"

"You won't talk to me like that."

"Well I just did, and I have no regrets," Seth spat, staring deep into his father's eyes.

"You're being difficult," Harry sighed.

"What if I like to be?"

"Go to school."

"Whatever. School doesn't change anything. I'm still Seth." He narrowed his eyes at his father, intent on making him even angrier than he already was. "But you'll always be that sorry-ass man who can't even find his damn car keys." Seth clenched his fists and stared Harry down, waiting to see if he'd done anything or not.

But Harry didn't look mad...Not one bit. He laughed at Seth. Laughed at him. And then he sucked in a breath and fell back.

Seth jumped when he heard the sound of a gun being shot. Someone was standing in front of him now, their hand outstretched. It held a gun. The person turned around and Seth stared himself in the face.

"D-D-Dah..." he stuttered. Seth gulped. "You killed him," he whispered, then fell to the ground. Seth turned back to his father.

"Dad?"

Nothing.

"D...Dad, this isn't f-funny." Seth fell to Harry's side and shook him. His body was so cold already. A bullet was in his forehead, a line of blood leading away from it. Seth took in a huge intake of breath. "S-Somebody help me!" he cried. But his voice sounded so far away. No one would hear him. And then Sam Uley appeared.

"Let it out, Seth. Don't fight it," he whispered. Seth jerked his face down to the ground and could hear his clothes ripping. And then he was a wolf. A monster.

"There you go..." Leah smiled. Seth didn't remember her coming in.

"Fast, just like his sister," Sam grinned. "Now get rid of that." Seth picked up his father's body in his mouth and ran out the house. He kept running and running until he smelled a fire nearby. Without thinking, he tossed it in and watched him burn.

Harry reached for his son to pull him out. But wolf-Seth just sat there and watched with narrowed eyes.

"You'll forever regret this, Seth! I'm burning and you won't even help me! _Help _me!" Seth stared on. "You'll regret it. _Forever_!" He choked and gargled. "You are not my son." And then the fire faded away and Seth was human again.

He had a suit on, and he seemed to be in a large room.

The sound of wood on wood made him jump. He looked up into the eyes of his father. He was cloaked in navy blue and had a grabble in his hands.

"And the court has come to a unanimous decision," he said, gazing at Seth with cold...Hard eyes.

"Guilty!" He turned to the person who had spoken. Harry again. The whole court was made up of him. "Guilty! Guilty!" he started chanting. The rest of them started to chant, too. "Guilty! Guilty!"

They circled around him and Seth felt overpowered. He fell to the ground, covering his ears. But he still heard them.

Seth gasped and sat up quickly, his breathing labored and quick. The blankets were a heap on his bed and he was sweating. He put a hand on his hot forehead and closed his tired eyes. He sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep now.

Fifteen minutes later he was running through the forest on four, sandy brown paws. In some ways, he liked being what he was. During those rough days, phasing and going for a long run was just the kind of distraction he needed to escape and think. Well, not so much on the _thinking _part.

_"Hey, Kid," _Paul appeared in his mind. Seth sighed. _"What're you doing up so late?" _

_ "What are _you _doing up so late?" _Seth shot back.

_"Patrol." _

Well, duh.

_"Well...I had patrol, too," _Seth said. Embry phased.

_"No you don't. Not until tomorrow night." _

_ "You're a really bad liar, you know that?" _Seth could hear the smirk in Paul's thoughts.

_"And you're really annoying, you know that?" _the youngest wolf growled. At that moment he came to the end of the woods, appearing in the backyard of another house on the reservation.

_"Bro, come back. You can't let anyone-"_

_ "Yeah, yeah. I _know_. Damn, I'm not stupid," _Seth growled again. He focused his attention on a girl sliding out of her second story window and perching herself on the roof of the house. She turned her face up towards the sky, letting her hair fall back.

Seth's breath caught in his throat when he realized that it was Jazmyn.

_"Whoa. Now how did a kid like you end up with a chick like _that_?" _Embry asked. Seth didn't answer and his thoughts trailed off to yesterday when she had fallen asleep in his arms. That's when he saw that she was still wearing his shirt. _"Uh...What exactly _did _you do with her last night?" _Again, Embry was ignored by Seth. He phased and pulled on the shorts that he had tied around his leg, his eyesight never leaving Jazmyn for a second.

"I miss you. Every day, Nat," Jazmyn whispered. She pulled Seth Clearwater's shirt tighter around her, trying to keep out the cold. She tightened her hold on the photo frame in her hands and glanced down. "Why did you leave me?" She bit her lip to keep a sob from escaping her mouth.

"Hey!"

Jazmyn hiccupped, surprised at the sudden greeting.

"Nat?" she asked stupidly. She looked up before moving her eyes to the ground.

Oh. Just Seth Clearwater.

But for some reason, her heart fluttered and she felt her face get hot. Why? She didn't know.

"Oh. H-hey," she finally stuttered. She set the frame down and hopped onto the top of the shed before jumping to the ground. "What're you doing here? It's late."

"I was taking a walk," Seth smiled grimly. He looked at the house behind her. "This is where you live?"

"What? Oh. Yeah. I guess."

"You _guess_?"

"Yeah."

"...Okay." Jazmyn giggled.

"Oh!" She slid off the shirt. "You probably want your shirt back..." Her eyes landed on his bare chest and abs. "Umm...I'm sorry I didn't wash it. But I-"

"Nah. It's fine." Seth smiled. "Keep it."

"...For real?"

"Sure." Seth took a step closer then looked away. He glanced at her face again then returned his gaze back to the left in embarrassment.

"What...?" Jazmyn knitted her brows together. Seth shook his head and glanced at her again. "What?" She stamped her foot and Seth frowned with a slight smile. "Seth Clearwater, _what_?"

"Nothing, it's just..." His face turned a faint shade of pink. "I think you're really pretty." Jazmyn's eyes widened.

"Huh?"

"N-nothing," Seth turned away. "It's no big deal."

"No, no, no...Repeat it."

"Ah-I...Think you're pretty," he whispered. He folded his arms over his chest. Jazmyn smiled and bit her lip.

"Thanks. No one's told me that in a really long time."

"What? I thought you'd hear it every day, I mean...Nothing compares...To...You..." he trailed off, suddenly feeling embarrassed that he had said too much.

Jazmyn smiled wider at how cute he looked when his face turned pink and the way his voice trailed off. She looked down then back at Seth. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he turned to face her.

_Fuck, I'm about to do something crazy...Don't do it. Don't do it..._

She used her other hand to caress his cheek, then brushed it with her thumb. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned closer and closer into his face. He was doing the same to her.

Softly, she pressed her lips to his.

_Dammit, Jazz!_

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**~SashaFierce12.0**


	5. Chapter 5

**Heyy, guys! Sorry this update is super late! I thought I'd take a break for the week because, well, it was the holidays! Aside from having a MONSTER of a cold, my holiday was awesome! So, Merry LATE Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you!**

**I hope that you enjoy this chapter and thanks for the reviews, people!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Five

Seth and Jazmyn fell to the ground, kissing and kissing over and over again.

"Wait. Wait, wait, wait," Jazmyn finally breathed. Seth cocked his head to the side. "Do we really want to do this? I've only known you, for what? A day?"

_It's never stopped you before._

"...Yeah. Well...I wanna have sex, do you wanna have sex?"

"Sure." Jazmyn kissed him again and stopped to pull her shirt off. She was starting to get hot. "You're so warm," she whispered.

"Runs in the family," Seth answered quickly before reaching around her torso to unfasten her bra.

"What's you favorite part?" Jazmyn asked, pulling away from him.

"Favorite part?"

"Of fucking me."

"...I don't know...Ah-" Seth's head shot up when he heard a howl in the forest. Jazmyn looked up, too.

"_Wolves_?!" she whispered excitedly.

"I...Gotta go," Seth said apologetically. He sighed before getting to his feet and refastening his shorts.

"Do you always run around like that?"

"Shirtless? Yeah. Most of the time."

"No. Without undies," Jazmyn corrected in a 'duh' voice. "What do you _really _do on your walks? Stalk around La Push and fuck with every girl that just so happens to be sitting on her roof?" She crossed her arms - a little out of cold, a little out of jealousy...But mostly to keep her bra on her shoulders.

"No..." Seth knitted his brows together with a smile.

"What if I said I didn't believe you?"

"...What if I said I just died a little inside knowing that you didn't believe me?" He looked down then back at her. Jazmyn narrowed her eyes.

"You are really hard to figure out, you know that?" she asked.

"I could say the same for you, Miss Anderson."

"And that, my friend, is where you are wrong. I've been told I can be read as easily as an open book." Jazmyn rolled her eyes. "Why the hell did I just say that aloud?" She face palmed herself and her left shoulder strap slid down to the crook of her elbow.

Seth smiled at her before his head snapped back up again.

"Look...Jazzy-"

"You called me 'Jazzy,'" Jazmyn pointed out.

"What?"

"You called me '_Jazzy_.'"

"I'm sorry. Do you prefer your full name?"

"No...It's just..." She bit her lip. "Never mind." She smiled. "Keep doing it." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"I promise that I'll be back, okay? Maybe I'll catch you at school or something."

School. Jazmyn had forgotten about that.

"Oh. Right," she said unenthusiastically. She was so not excited about a new school.

"Bye." Seth ran off into the forest. He waited until he was a good distance away before he slid off his shorts and phased.

_"You're dead, Black. You hear me? I'm going to-"_

_ "Shut the hell up, Sam-"_

_ "Don't tell me what to do!" _Sam growled and Seth appeared just as he lunged for Jacob.

_"Guys, stop!" _Leah thought loudly. Jacob threw Sam off of himself and sat back up, going to stand by Leah.

_"What's going on?" _Seth asked, clearly annoyed. _"Is it an emergency? Who howled?"_

_ "Jacob, you better not leave her, you understand me?" _Sam thought.

_"I'm not stupid-"_

_ "You sure about that?"_

_ "That's _it_!" _Jacob growled and lunged for Sam. Paul ran through before he could get to him.

_"Stop. This doesn't help anything." _Jacob growled and took a step forward. Paul growled back at him, louder. _"I said stop, Jacob. It's not worth it." _Seth stared around at everyone, confused as to why they all had to be gathered here at a time like this: it was probably midnight. He watched as Jacob ran off, his thoughts a jumbled mess. They disappeared when he phased, though.

_"Ugh," _Leah looked up. Then she focused her gaze on her brother.

_"What's happening?" _he asked.

_"Bro Bro, c'mere," _Leah said. Seth frowned but did as she said. _"Closer." _

_ "No, you're gonna hit me or something," _Seth stopped walking. Leah rolled her eyes.

_"I'm not, I promise." _Seth hesitated. He looked at Sam, who was pacing back and forth a few feet away. He looked at the guys, who were watching him with curious and excited eyes. He looked back at his sister, who's eyes were widened, coaxing him to come closer.

_"C'mon," _Leah thought gently. Seth took a few tiny steps closer. _"Be quiet. Listen." _

_"Why?" _

_ "Just do it." _

_ "...Fine." _Seth followed her command. His ears flicked back, then to the left, then to the right. He looked west and frowned, turning back to Leah. _"What is that?" _He leaned down, closer to the forest floor. It got louder. It...It was coming from Leah's stomach.

_Thump. Thump-thump._

_ "Did you have a bad taco?" _Seth asked. _"That doesn't sound good." _Leah huffed.

_"No, stupid. I'm pregnant." _

_ "Oh. Makes sense. So that's..._Oh_," _Seth sat up. He growled. _"Does Mom know?" _he asked. Leah nodded. _"Whoop-de-freaking-doo, you're knocked up. How does it feel? To become like those people you said you'd never be?" _Seth turned around. _"Fuck, I feel like I'm about to puke. _Le_ah!"_ Seth growled again. Louder. _"I hate you." _Leah's ears drooped down and her eyes welled up. She never thought that she'd ever have to hear that from someone that she loved.

_"Seth!" _Embry sat up.

_"Whatever. I'm out." _He started to walk off but stopped. _"Congratulations, by the way. Hope it doesn't have a sucky life." _Ignoring the calls of his brothers, Seth walked away and then phased when he got to his house.

For once, he was glad that he had been interrupted before what he was going to do with Jazmyn progressed further. If it had, he could've ended up like Leah and Jacob in just a few seconds.

_Damn it, I sound like a fucking abstinence commercial._

Seth walked in through the front door, glancing at the wall clock.

12:42

He saw a light on in the kitchen and walked in with a frown on his face. Sue was sitting on the counter, eating a bowl of cereal.

"Hi, Sweetie. You're up late. Did you go for a walk?"

"Why was I the last one to find out?" Seth asked in a 'cut-the-crap' voice. Sue gave him a confused look then slowly it dawned on her. She set her bowl down and crossed her legs.

"Wow. Umm...I don't know. I told her that it was her choice who she told. Who she didn't tell."

"Well how long have _you _known?"

"...It's only been a few weeks! Honey, not that-"

"How many is a few?"

"Four."

"That's not a few weeks! That's a whole fucking month!"

"Language."

"Sorry," Seth muttered. "It's just..." Seth couldn't voice what he was feeling. Everything in his life was beginning to crumble beneath his fingertips. At that moment, he felt like nothing he could do could make it better. No _one _could make it better.

It felt like not even...Not even seeing Jazmyn again would make everything better.

That hurt him inside. To feel that.

"Seth-"

"I'm going to bed. I have school in the morning." Seth walked upstairs, pausing at the fifth step. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly and then reopened them. Finally, he went up to his room.

000000000000000000000000

"Today's the big day! You excited?" Miss Pocket asked Jazmyn, setting a plate of pancakes down in front of her. She didn't even bother to answer, knowing that she wasn't looking for one. "Well I sure am. Your first day of school in a new place. And the best part? No one here knows you. You can start a new chapter and make yourself out to be whatever you want to be." Miss Pocket brushed Jazmyn's hair back and kissed the scar on her forehead.

"I'll be driving you today, so hurry up and eat, honey. Wheels up in ten. Unfortunately I don't have Harvey anymore, so we'll have to take the Nissan." Jazmyn smirked, hearing the dread in her grandmother's voice. Heaven raised her eyebrows and rolled her eyes, stuffing the rest of her pancakes into her mouth.

"We have ten minutes. Not ten seconds. Are you even _tasting _that?" Jazmyn said sarcastically. Heaven stuck her tongue out at her and stood up, downing the rest of her orange juice. "Kristy and her dad are driving me today. They'll be here any second." As if on cue, a car horn honked outside. "That's them. Later!" She grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door.

Fifteen minutes later, Miss Pocket pulled up to an old looking tan building. Cars were parked out front and students mingled around it. Jazmyn looked around. She wasn't used to not seeing police cars around a school, so this was...Different.

"Have a marvelous day, honey. No fighting, you hear me?"

"Please. It's only my first day. I save my fists for my _second _day," Jazmyn smirked. Miss Pocket sighed as her granddaughter began to slide out of the seat.

"Jazmyn, can you try and make this experience enjoyable? For _more _than a few minutes?"

"Who said this wasn't enjoyable? Bye, Gramma!" Jazmyn shut the door to the car and sighed, taking in her new school. She began the short walk to the front door, feeling everyone's eyes on her.

She smirked, liking the attention. Flipping her hair, she pushed open the front door and slammed straight into a brick wall.

"Whoa! So sorry. Did _not _see you there!"

"Hey! Watch it, idiot! I'm trying to _walk _here! Stupid asshole!" she yelled, forgetting about watching her accent.

"Jazzy?"

"Oh. Hey, Seth." Jazmyn smiled and waved.

"We really gotta stop doing that," he laughed a little bit.

"Aww, I liked being able to call you Asshole when I wanted to." Seth laughed once and looked down. "Hey, you wanna point me to the way of the office? I'm...Kind of lost." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh. Just down that hallway." Seth pointed at the long corridor in front of them. "Second door on the right."

"Sweet. 'Kay. Guess I'll be seeing you."

"Yeah." Seth smiled and nodded at her, watching her as she left. He sighed and mentally kicked himself. That was really the best he could do? A 'yeah?!' He cursed under his breath and looked back up to see that she was gone. "Perfect." He turned back around to head towards East Wing, where his first class was. He kept his hands in his pockets and his head down, avoiding everyone as they passed. He didn't talk. He didn't smile. He just kept on walking.

Jacob had his arm around Leah, the rest of the school-going pack walking with them as they walked to classes together.

"Has anyone seen Seth?" Leah asked. Again.

"For the umpteenth time, Leah. _No_," Kim sighed. Leah looked at the ceiling and then focused her attention straight ahead. That's when she saw him. Hands in his pockets. Head down. His eyes shot to the right just in time to avoid colliding with a group of students. He sidestepped to the left.

"Found him," Paul announced. "Kid!" he called. Seth stopped and turned around just as someone called, "Seth!" He grinned and his imprint ran up to him. "Show me the way to Mr. Henry's. I'm clueless."

"'Kay." He smiled at her again and they turned to the left, towards North Wing. Leah didn't miss the side glance he gave her and the Pack, though. He nodded once and then turned back around.

"Last time he ignores me," Paul growled. He started to follow them.

"Paul, don't. He just needs some time." Leah looked down. "Leave him alone." Then her eyes turned to slits. "Because if you hurt him, I'll hurt you."

0000000000000000000000000

_One Week Later_

"Who's turn was it again?"

"Mine." Jazmyn bit her lip in deep thought. "Color."

"Blue." Seth grinned at her.

"What kind?"

"It's my turn, Jazzy."

"Oh. Right."

"Food?"

"...Anything and _everything_." Seth laughed.

"That's the best kind."

"Okay. Question from before."

"The good kind. Baby blue. With a little tinge of green." Seth gave Jazmyn one of his über-famous lopsided grins that Jazmyn had come to falling in love with over the past few days. "Alright. My turn."

"Choose wisely, Seth Clearwater. You only have five questions left."

"Okay...Siblings?"

"No," Jazmyn answered a little bit too quickly. Seth knitted his brows together. "Mom and Pops never did want any after me - the 'Troublemaker'. I have a cousin, though. Heaven."

"Heaven's her name?"

"Three left."

"No fair! That doesn't even count!"

"All's fair in love and 20 Questions!"

"You just made that up," Seth laughed.

"And?"

"Okay, okay." Seth sat back and looked at the stars. "I get why you like it up here so much. It's really cool."

"Yeah. One of my favorite things to do is try and count how many stars there are up there. But I always lose count after thirty." Jazmyn shrugged. "Hey, don't change the subject." She nudged him playfully. Seth sat up again. "Siblings?"

"Just one," answered Seth. He looked down. "Her name's Leah."

"Why so blue? I've always wanted a sister. That way I can steal all her stuff." She laughed again. Seth just smiled. "I bet she looks like you. If she does, then I know she's pretty."

"You think I'm pretty?"

"Why not?"

"I think you're pretty, too."

"I know. You've told me."

"Right, right." The two sat in silence for a few minutes, looking up at the stars again. "My turn."

"No. My turn."

"No. You asked a question, remember?"

"_Now _it's my turn." She smirked at him.

"Fine."

"Tell me something...Deep about you. Like...Something personal that I'll have to swear never to talk or bring up again."

"...That's not a question, Jazzy."

"I know." She smiled. Seth looked up before returning his focus back to her.

"Sometimes...I get panic attacks. They don't last long...But it scares me, y'know? I never know when they're gonna come. Anything can set it off. Anything. I could be..." He laughed once. Sitting next to you or something. And it could happen. Just like that." He gave her a grim smile and looked up again. "I hope I didn't freak you out."

"Just the complete opposite. It makes me feel good inside that you actually told me something like that. And just so you know, if you do end up ever having one in front of me, I'd do everything to make it better. _Any_thing." Jazmyn smiled at him.

"Thanks."

"Anytime." She kissed his cheek.

"So...What are we...Exactly?" Seth asked.

"What do you mean?"

"One minute you're running me over with a car...The next...I'm wanting to rip off my clothes and jump your bones at the very first chance I get. And you don't even mind."

"Oh. Well..." Jazmyn narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth to answer. But Seth's head snapped up.

"_Shit_," he cursed. "I gotta go."

"O-oh. Well...I'll see you at school on Monday, I guess."

"Hey, tomorrow night we're having a bonfire. Come with me? I can meet you here at five?" he asked hopefully. Jazmyn smiled at him.

"I'd like that."

"Cool. Tomorrow. Five then." He hopped off the roof and landed on his feet before starting to run off.

"Sometimes I _swear_, you're part cat, Seth Clearwater." She could hear his laugh all the way from up where she was sitting.

"Dog, Jazmyn Anderson. Part _dog_."

"That doesn't even make _sense_!" she yelled back. Seth just looked up at her, a mischievous twinkle in his eye. He ran off into the forest.

**I know...Not really my best, but Seth and Jazmyn are starting to get somewhere! Sorry about the weird beginning, ha-ha. But...Review!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for all the story favorites and stuff, guys! I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter! Enjoy this one too!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Six

Seth plopped onto his bed with a sigh. He stuck ear buds into his ears and turned his iPod sound as high as it would go.

That was the third one in two weeks. He'd never had that many in such a short period of time since he was younger.

Jazmyn took it like a pro, though. She held his hand and whispered soothingly into his ear until he had finally calmed down. He smiled at that. It had only taken her a minute or so.

"Sorry," Seth had apologized, embarrassed.

"It's...Scary," she had laughed a little bit. Seth had nodded. Then she kissed his cheek. "But you're okay now. That's all that matters. I'll walk with you to your house, 'kay?"

Seth snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the bathroom door slam. He sat up and took one ear bud out, listening. The sound of Leah vomiting (again) filled his ears and he rolled his eyes before sticking the bud back in.

"Seth." Sue shook her son. He popped up, startled for a few seconds. His tired eyes found his mother and his face flashed from majorly pissed to just a little ticked. "It's ten until five. Aren't you supposed to be-"

"Crap! I'm supposed to be...Crap. Crap, crap..." Seth hopped off his bed. He'd fallen asleep. Funny how it had only felt like a few minutes...

Sue smiled at her son, amused at his franticness.

"She's downstairs, sweetie."

"What?"

"She's-"

Seth rushed down the stairs and skidded to a stop when he saw that Jazmyn was laughing with his sister. He stared at the two.

"He about hopped out his skin," Leah was saying.

"I bet he did." Jazmyn waved at Seth and stood up. "Well, congrats, anyway."

"Thanks," Leah replied.

"You didn't tell me your sister was Leah! And that you were gonna be an uncle!" Jazmyn said.

"Must've..." Seth laughed once. "Slipped my mind."

"Sorry I kinda barged in on you..."

_Yeah. Sure, _she thought to herself.

"But Grams was kinda...Getting crazy..." Jazmyn laughed.

_You just couldn't wait any longer. Quit lying, _her inner self argued. Mentally, she told it to shut the fuck up and mind its own business.

She rolled her eyes. Seth smirked.

"You ready?"

"Yeah." Jazmyn smiled and looked at her outfit. She had on a pair of skinnies and a long-sleeved white shirt. The shirt that Seth had given her was unbuttoned over that and she had on a scarf. She had her hair in a high ponytail on top of her head. "Oh, I...Made food."

"Great. It'll be gone before the legends start," Leah laughed, standing up.

"Isn't that right?" Sue laughed, too. Seth rolled his eyes and took Jazmyn's hand - the one not holding the container of cookies.

"We'll meet you there," Seth said before going out the door.

"Wait. I didn't get to meet your pops," Jazmyn said. "I thought it'd be-"

"He stepped out," Seth replied quickly. He shut the door behind him.

"...Oh?" Jazmyn raised her eyebrows. "You just don't want me to meet him. Aww, Seth. He can't be _that _embarrassing." She laughed and nudged him with her shoulder. "Ow. You're _really _hard, you know that?" Jazmyn laughed again.

"Eh, runs in the family."

"_Everything _runs in your family."

"Just 'cause...Our family inherits a lot of traits."

"You're an a..." Jazmyn trailed off when Seth looked at her. "Butthole."

"Very well, Miss Anderson."

"Thank you, Mister Clearwater." Seth had been teaching Jazmyn not to curse as much.

"Why am I a butthole?"

"Because."

"Alright." Seth laughed. Jazmyn pulled on his hand, leaning off the curb a little bit.

"_Whoa_! Whoa there! Look at me walkin' sideways! _Whoa_!" she exclaimed with a laugh. Seth let go of her hand and Jazmyn screamed. He caught her and her container of cookies right before they fell. "Holy shit, I coulda fucking died!"

"Excuse me?"

"...Holy cow, I coulda fudging _died_," Jazmyn muttered.

"That's what I thought."

"You're a son of a biscuit eating bulldog, you butthole."

"Language..." Seth quirked a brow.

"I didn't even fu-" Seth smirked at her. "You're despicable."

"Why _thank_ you."

They appeared at the beach then and Seth's smile faltered. He wasn't particularly in the mood to see everyone today. But, of course, Sam had alpha commanded to. So Seth, being the smart person he is, brought Jazmyn so that he wouldn't be bored and unsociable.

"Ooh, fire!" Jazmyn exclaimed, tugging Seth towards the Pack.

"Careful, Jazzy. The last thing we need is some insane pyromaniac playing around with matches." Jazmyn stuck her tongue out at him and giggled before pulling him with her.

Jared and Embry looked up when they heard a sharp, somewhat-tinkling laugh ring through the air. When they looked up, so did everyone else - like gophers popping out of their holes.

A smile graced Sam's face when he watched Seth twirl Jazmyn around and laugh. The younger wolf held a container of cookies and snatched it away and held it high in the air so the shorter girl with him couldn't reach it. She laughed and hopped on his back and they continued towards the group by the fire. She whispered something in his ear and he stopped to laugh. As they got closer, the girl started to talk louder.

"And not one ounce of the f-u-c-k was given that day." She leaned forward and her smile got wider. Seth looked up to the left.

"I'll allow it. This time."

"Oh, heck yes!" She giggled again and kissed his cheek. Seth stopped and she hopped off his back, snatching the container out of his hands. "Ha! _Bleh_!" She stuck her tongue out at him. She laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder, finally looking at everyone.

"Whoa, awesome eyes," Kaden said.

"I know," Jazmyn smirked and shrugged. "My name is Jazmyn Anderson. And I brought cookies." She glanced at the container. "Chocolate chip." She grinned at everyone.

"That's Emily. She's...Pretty much the cook for everyone," Seth said. Jazmyn nodded and looked Emily up and down. She paused for a second at her scars then decided that the right side of her face was prettier than the left. She smiled at her and nodded again with a slight wave.

"And that's Quil and Claire over there." Again, Jazmyn looked Claire up and down like she had done to Emily. She decided she liked _Claire_. _Claire _seemed nice...And an easy beat. Jazmyn would win in a fight for sure. She took in her small, skinny frame again and smirked.

_I'd definitely win._

"Kim and Jared-" Same up-down. No. She didn't like Kim.

She paused at Kim's manicured hands.

_Thirty-five bucks. Easy chip._

"And Kaden, Embry, Paul, and Sam. Sam's my..._boss_."

"Oh. _Boss_," Jazmyn smiled at Sam. "You're the one that's always calling Seth away, aren't you?"

"Only when I really need him."

"Which is all the time." Sam nodded and shrugged. "Hm." She looked at Emily. "Emily. _Claire_." Jazmyn smiled at her. She looked at Kim, giving her another up-down. "Kim. Sweet. I'm Jazmyn Anderson. If..." She smirked. "You didn't hear me before." She cocked her head and fingered the hair from her ponytail. She flashed her eyes at the three girls and held out the container of cookies. "You wanna take it? I swear they're good," she said, making her voice as sweet as she could. "_Claire_, why don't you take it?" She smiled at her.

"Sure! I'll-"

"Actually. Kim." Jazmyn held out the container for Kim to take, her head still cocked to the left. She raised her eyebrows and tapped the container with her fingernail. Kim took it and Jazmyn held onto a bit longer with a smile on her face. She let go. "I didn't poison it, I _swear_," she whispered. Kim walked over to the table of food. Jazmyn's eyes followed her.

She broke away and looked at Seth.

"Where'd you dad step off to? I still wanna meet him, and you can't stop me, Mister." She poked his chest. Seth chuckled.

"I dunno. I don't even know if he'll be here tonight, actually. He's...Pretty busy nowadays."

"Aww." She hugged him. "Maybe another day, then. But I _will _meet him, though." That's when Leah and Jacob joined the party, Sue right on their heels. "Hi, Leah."

"Hi, Jazmyn," Leah waved. She set her guitar down and sat, Jacob taking a seat next to her. Jazmyn tugged on Seth's arm and pulled them over to the two.

"I'm Jazmyn."

"Jacob."

"_Jacob_. I know you. You were in PT's office the other day. You go there a lot?"

"...PT?"

"_Principle Thomas_. Duh."

"Oh. No."

"Hm. I'm in there every day. Think he likes me." Jazmyn laughed.

"I highly doubt it, Jazzy."

"Whatever. He's an asshole anyway." Seth raised an eyebrow. Jazmyn rolled her eyes. "_Butthole. _That's what he is."

"Better!" Seth high fived her.

"Can we forget this little rule? _Just _for tonight?"

"No."

"Please?"

"_No._"

"_Please_...?" Jazmyn poked her lip out and drew a finger down Seth's cheek. He chuckled.

"No."

"Ohh..." Jazmyn kissed his cheek. "You play that, Leah?"

"Yeah."

"She promised to play tonight," Jacob smiled.

"And Seth's gonna sing with me."

"No I'm not."

"Yeah you are."

"_Leah_," Seth growled.

"Can I play it real quick?" Jazmyn picked up the guitar. "Nice." She played an E chord. "Ooh..." She started to play the beginning to _Bubbly_. "_Dah-dah-dah toes and something bout noses..._" She giggled. "_Something some-something stay for a while now..._" She looked at Seth and grinned. "_The title's called 'Bubbly' but has shit to do with bubbles...And I hope you let that slip 'cause I will throw a fucking tantrum if you don't let it slip, and then you'll probably cry..._"

Seth chuckled. He was surprised at how good her voice actually was.

"_Yeah, yeah...Playing Leah's guitar...Making up some lyrics while waiting for the stars...To come out from behind those clouds...But they're probably hiding cause I'm freaking loud. Starts in the toes and crinkles my nose...Where ever it goes...Somebody...Is...Being a hoe...puh-ful personnnn,_" She looked at Seth and winked, strumming a little more. "I don't know about you guys, but I like my version _way _better than Colbie's." She strummed hard on a B chord and handed the instrument back to Leah. "Nice. Wish I had one of my own, though."

"Jazmyn, tell us a little more about you," Sam said. He smiled at her.

"Sure thing Boss." Jazmyn smiled. "Well...I like to eat. Eating is my hobby. Eating and I are in _love_. But there's this thing that always tears us apart...It's called _getting fat_. _Getting fat _is jealous of our beautiful relationship. But-" Seth started laughing and so did everyone else. "I'm being quite serious here!"

"I like her," Embry said. Seth glanced at him. "As a _friend_."

"You seem like a good friend, too, Eddie."

"Embry."

"I like Eddie better, Elliot...Embry."

"Then I get to call you Julie."

"Eww. Julie is fucking ugly," Jazmyn shuddered, thinking about a girl from her past school.

"You've exceeded your limit for today. Anything more from the category of _cursing _is going to cost you a dollar."

"A...Butthole." She nudged Seth. He nudged her back. "Don't make me hurt you! I will fuck your face up so bad-"

"That's one." Jazmyn rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath and handed him two dimes, a nickel, and three quarters fished out from the bottom of her pocket.

"Funny, that's the richest Seth's been in his life," Leah said, strumming her guitar. She smirked when Seth shot her a dirty look. She hummed a few notes.

"Hey, look! Water! And it's _open_!" Jazmyn threw her boots off and took off her socks. Then she rolled up her jeans.

"And freaking cold."

"Does it look like I really give a f-u-c-k?"

"You're pushing it, Anderson."

"Let's go." She kissed his cheek, knowing that he'd give in. He did. She giggled as he threw her over his shoulder, heading towards the water. She squealed when she felt cold water. He set her down and she screamed, running out. Seth raised his eyebrow and dragged her back in. "It's _cold_!"

"You said you wanted to go in the water!"

She squealed again and hopped onto Seth, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"I'm gonna _freeze_. Aren't you cold?"

"No. I'm actually hot. And it feels good. My warmness-"

"Runs in the family. I know." She looked deep into his eyes. "This is a questionable situation."

"Yeah?" he breathed. He kissed her once. She shivered. He held her tighter and pressed his lips to hers again. She pulled away, planting more chaste kisses on his lips. She stopped.

"Check."

"What?"

"Get kissed in the water at the beach. It was number fifty-two on my bucket list." Seth chuckled deep from his throat before kissing her again.

"I don't like her," Kim said, looking at the two. "She doesn't seem right for him." Leah growled low in her throat.

"I like her," she muttered.

"Did you see the way she looked at me? The way she treated me? Girl's just a little bitchy for my taste," Kim retorted, crossing her arms over her chest. She glanced back at the kissing couple in the water.

"She's cool," Claire said.

"Really? _Claire_?" Kim asked, mocking Jazmyn's tone.

"Yeah." Claire shrugged.

"Maybe she just has to warm up to you," Kaden suggested.

"You're only saying that because she's pretty," Kim shot at him. Jared wrapped his arm around her.

"Be nice, Kim. That's his imprint. Whether you like it or not, she's around to stay," Emily said. "At least try and be nice."

"Hm," Kim shot a dirty look at Jazmyn, who's forehead was leaned against Seth's. The new imprint glanced at Kim and smirked. She kissed Seth again, making it a point to stare at Kim, who didn't miss it when she flashed her finger at her. "Ooh! That girl!"

"What?"

"Huh?"

"She...She...! I can't _stand _her!" Kim stood up. "I'm going to get a cookie...The ones that _she _didn't make." Jared sighed before following her.

"I think she's just hesitant to except someone new," Claire said. "It's only been us for a while now."

"Sure." Leah strummed some more and then stopped. "Crap." She threw down her guitar and stalked off somewhere down the beach. Jacob sighed and placed his head in the palm of his hand.

"It's alright, Jakey. It only lasts a few more weeks," Emily said.

"Yeah. It seems like forever, though. I feel so bad for her." He knitted his brows together and stared off in the direction that she had left. Sam did, too, and sighed roughly. Emily placed a hand on his shoulder and he relaxed.

Leah finally came back and sighed before laying her head on Jacob's shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

"Do you have gum? Anyone?"

"Nope."

"Sorry."

"Not this time, Leah. Sorry."

"Great..." she shivered, burying herself deeper into Jacob.

"Hey, guys!" Jazmyn skipped back just as Kim and Jared sat down. "I'm happy! Are you guys happy? Are _you _happy, Kimmy?"

"_Peachy_," Kim shot.

"What'd I do? I...I..." Jazmyn's lip quivered and she stood up and hurried off down the beach. Seth growled at Kim which caused Jared to growl at Seth. That made Sam growl at the two of them to shut up. Seth rolled his eyes and went after his imprint.

"That _girl_!" Kim huffed.

Seth chased after Jazmyn, coaxing her to come back.

"I know that she can be annoying sometimes-"

"I don't think she likes me, Sethy."

"It's okay. I'll tell Jared to make her be nicer to you."

"But I don't wanna force her to-"

"Jazzy," Seth whispered. He looked into her eyes. Jazmyn melted under his look and hugged him. "Come back, 'kay?"

"Okay..." She kissed his cheek and held his hand tightly. When they sat back down, Jazmyn narrowed her eyes at Kim and flipped her ponytail.

"Billy's here! Now we can start telling the legends," Claire chirped. Jacob's dad took his place and Jazmyn cocked her head curiously.

"Have you heard any of the legends?" Billy asked her with a smile.

"Grams used to tell me when I was younger. Umm...Something about freezing people-"

Kim corrected, "Cold ones."

"-cold ones and, uh...In...Star...Purr...Ten...A..._Shunnn_...?" Jazmyn smiled sheepishly.

"Imprinting, smartness," Kim spat. Jazmyn gave her a tight smile.

Billy chuckled, "Well, you were close, little miss."

"You hear that? I was close!" she exclaimed happily. She looked up at Seth and laced her fingers with his. "I was _close_."

Billy chuckled again and dove into stories about spirit warriors and cold ones. Jazmyn listened intently, intrigued by every word.

"Wow..." she breathed after Billy had finished. Her face fell. "Wait...You're done already?" Her question sparked a little laughter from the group and Billy nodded. "Aww, poo." Sam looked at Seth.

"Hey, Seth. Don't you think that now's a good time to-"

"Get Jazzy home? I guess...Yeah. If you say so," Seth shrugged.

"Oh...Well, okay," Jazmyn shrugged, too. They both stood up and she didn't miss how Seth kept his eyes away from his friends and how he shook a little. She knitted her brows together and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stopped instantly and gave her a small smile.

"No. Seth. Take her for a walk," Sam said. He looked pointedly at him. Seth glanced at his imprint and then back at his alpha.

"Now?"

"Now," Sam nodded.

"Change of plans, Jazzy. We're going for a walk." Jazmyn squealed. "Hop on." He bent down a bit so she could hop on his back which she happily did.

"Corner of West and Broadway, my good man," she said, forgetting - again - about her New York accent.

"Anything for the lady," Seth laughed and walked off. Sam smiled after them and then turned back to everyone else.

Seth carried Jazmyn into the forest where they - well, Seth - strolled in contented silence. When Jazmyn's weight felt just the slightest bit heavier, Seth smiled, knowing that she'd fallen asleep. He started to carry her home, relieved that he didn't have to tell her about his 'secret life' just yet.

The lights were off when he arrived, and he went in through the back patio door, knowing that the lock on it was broken. He walked noiselessly up to her room and laid her on her bed, brushing her hair back. After a quick kiss to her temple, he opened the window and hopped out. He was planning on going back home when a rancid smell shot up his nose.

He stopped, suddenly on alert. All of his senses were screaming _leech, leech, leech! _He thought about phasing and howling for the others, he really did. But...

That would make him a wimp, right? Chickening out of a good fight.

Silently, he walked into the forest, where the smell instantly became stronger. His ears picked up whispering and small laughter. Getting closer and closer; closing in on him. He felt his bones start to shift and he prepared himself to burst out of his clothes. But suddenly the shifting stopped. He stared at his feet, confused.

"Aww, little pet. What's wrong?" someone asked, their voice sickly sweet.

"Your powers are no good here, pet," another one laughed.

Another one whined, "Guys, quit teasing. I wanna have some fun. I'm _bored_."

"Right. Okay. Who wants the first hit?"

"Me!"

Seth fell forward as something thwacked his back. There was laughing. He coughed and tried to stand up but he was kicked back down. He growled and stood up, a huge mistake on his part. Three more hits came and he heard something crack in his shoulder and chest. After a sharp kick to the stomach, he fell to the ground, whimpering in pain.

The vampires laughed and then one sighed.

"Alright I'm bored again. Can we just feed now?"

"No. Not on..._That_. I can't smell _dog _while I'm feeding. Makes me feel sick."

"Aww. Sad face. He looked so delicious."

"Shut up, girls. We have work to do. You had your fun. Now it's time to _work_. You know Nathanial will have our heads if we keep him waiting any longer."

"David you know how much I hate _working_. Especially for _Nathanial_." Seth stood up painfully, gritting his teeth together and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Hey!"

He was pushed back down.

"Come on. He's not worth it anymore, guys. Let's go."

"Aww. See you later, pet! It was fun!"

"Sure." They ran off, one of them stepping on Seth's leg in the process. He didn't dare scream. He didn't yell. He didn't curse. That would show a sign of weakness, and the guys would baby him even more than they already were.

He tried to stand up, pausing when he put too much pressure on his leg. It hurt. It fucking hurt like _hell_. He pushed on.

Finally on his feet, he gripped a tree to steady himself. He then gripped his shoulder and limped back to the beach, wincing with every step.

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"He's not back yet. That's strange," Sam muttered. "It's been over an hour."

"I don't want to wait up for him anymore," Embry whined.

"He's probably fucking her right now," Paul muttered. Everyone looked at him. "You know it's..." He trailed off and looked at something behind Sam. "Shit! Kid!" He jumped up from his log and ran to Seth, who was limping towards the people at the bonfire. Sam ran after him.

"Bud, what happened?" he asked. Seth took in a deep breath. His breathing was labored and he was wheezing a bit. His eyes were only half opened and he was sweating. "Kid!"

"T-t-three..." he wheezed. He coughed, holding his stomach. "I'm sorry!"

"Tell us what _happened_!" Paul growled. Jacob and Embry were there by then, their eyes widened when they took in the youngest wolf's beaten frame.

"Ah-I-I couldn't...T-they s-s..."

"What. _Happened?! _I don't want the whole damn story!" Sam yelled.

"V...V-V..." Seth gulped in a huge breath and swayed. His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed.

"Seth!" Leah screamed. She started running towards him but Jacob held her back. She looked at her brother with horrified eyes, seeing his twisted leg and bruised arms. They were small, though, which showed that they were healing.

Sam caught him just before he hit the ground. His breathing was quick and rough.

"What do we do?" Kaden asked.

"A hospital is out of the question. They won't know how to treat him," Sam said calmly. "But we need to-"

"My baby!" Sue cried.

"Quil, take her away from here," Sam commanded. "Leah, too."

"No! I'm staying right here with him!" Leah snapped. "You can't-"

"Go with your mother, Leah," Sam said firmly. "I'm not asking you, I'm telling you." Leah's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. She backed away and then turned around, marching roughly down the beach. Quil took Sue and followed her.

"Do something!"

"Sam!"

"Come on!"

"Shut up, I'm thinking!" Sam growled at the others. He licked his lips once, noticing how dry his tongue was. "_Dammit_," he hissed. He ran a hand through his cropped hair and blew out a breath. He thought about it and sighed again, closing his eyes for a second. He was going to have to do something that he really (like, _really_) didn't want to do.

"Take him. Gently, dammit, gently," he ordered. "To my house. I'll be back."

"Where are you-" Embry was cut off by Sam placing Seth in Jacob's arms and running off.

It didn't take long before he smelled it; the sickly sweet scent of the Cullens. By the time he was on their front lawn, the whole coven was on their front steps. Sam held his hands up to show that he hadn't come for a fight. But he growled, anyway.

"What'd you do?" he demanded.

"Excuse me?" Carlisle asked.

"It's forbidden. You know that. To hurt one of my-"

"We haven't touched one of yours, Sam," Edward, the mind-reading one, said calmly. Sam didn't know why, but he felt strangely calm. He believed him.

"I'm..." Sam swallowed his pride and sighed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have suspected-"

"What are you doing here, dog?" the blonde one, Rosalie, hissed. Carlisle placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't think that he's here to harm us, Rose," he told her. She folded her arms over her chest and frowned hard at Sam, who closed his eyes for a second to calm his nerves. He sighed.

"Just for right now. Just today. Please. I want...I want to break the treaty. One of my Pack, he's hurt. Badly. I think-" (No you_ know_, you damn fool) "-that you're the only one who can help him," he explained.

"Why do we care that one of your kind is hurt?" Rosalie asked menacingly.

"_I _care and that's what matters," Sam growled; she was starting to get on his last nerve. Suddenly he felt a wave of calmness wash over him and he relaxed.

"But _we _don't," she spat and turned to leave. The rest of them started to turn, too.

"Wait!" Sam called. "Wait..." he said quieter. "Please. I'm...He's so young. I hate seeing him hurt so badly. His leg looks broken...he's bruised all over...It...It kills me. Us." Sam looked down, truthfully embarrassed that he'd shown his feelings to the enemy. He would have never in a million years thought that he'd have to do it so soon.

Esme looked at Carlisle and placed a hand on his shoulder. He closed his eyes for a second before reopening them.

"Let me gather my things."

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"Oh, hell no," Paul growled, standing up. "Sam-"

"Zip it. All of you," he commanded. Leah glanced hatefully at the leech before returning her focus back to her brother.

"I just calmed him down," she murmured. She didn't want another panic attack to be triggered by a vampire being so close to him. She wanted to rip the vamp's head off, but she knew that he was the only one that could help her little brother.

"Yikes," Carlisle said to himself. He touched his leg lightly and Seth sucked in a breath and growled, gritting his teeth together and tossing his head from side to side. Leah stroked his hair in an attempt to calm him. "His shoulder looks broken, too." Seth lifted his right hand and pointed to his bare stomach and chest. "Does it...?" Carlisle touched where his ribs were and Seth winced with a nod. "I can wrap those, but...The others I'll have to re-break before I wrap them. So that they'll set properly. But I have to do it now because they might have already tried to heal themselves. It...Wouldn't be good if that happened."

"Will it hurt him?" Leah asked. She mentally kicked herself.

_Well, _duh_, Leah._

"Well-"

"That means we can kill him, right? If he hurts one of us. Which is what he's about to do," Kaden said.

"I call his arms," Embry growled. He smiled at the thought of being able to nail a vampire.

"No one's killing anybody. It's...what he has to do," Sam sighed. He hated it as much as his Pack did, but what had to be done had to be done.

"Okay. Hm...you might want to step out for this," Carlisle said.

"We're not going anywhere," Jared growled. He leaned over the couch, looking down at who he called his kid brother. The others nodded in agreement. Carlisle's eyes flashed and he shrugged, walking over to Seth.

"Alright then."

"What? No painkillers or anything?! Anesthesia? Morphine?" Quil asked, surprised.

"I could give it to him, but his body would burn it off too fast. It would be the same thing as not giving him any at all."

"Leah?" Seth squeaked.

"I'm here, Baby Bro. And someone else is here to fix you right up," she cooed into his ear.

"I-"

"Shut up," she shook her head and kneaded her fingers through his hair.

"Can you step aside? I need to be right there." Carlisle smiled at Leah, who kissed her brother's temple and moved to the left. Jacob helped her off the floor and wrapped his arms around her. She leaned on his chest to calm her nerves.

"Alright...son, now, I want you to brace yourself. This is going to-" Seth shot up and growled when Carlisle touched his shoulder. He fell back onto the couch, his face twisted up in pain. He whimpered and silently started to cry.

"Shit!" he hissed. "Shit! Shit, shit, _shit_!"

"I have to re-break your bones, Seth. Got it?" Carlisle asked.

"Do it," Seth whispered. Hesitantly, he moved his hand away and turned his face into the couch cushion. Carlisle started in on the young wolf's shoulder. Seth winced and curled into himself, as if trying to hide from the pain. He felt nauseous - as if he could throw up at any second. He coughed violently and focused on holding it back. He wasn't about to do that; not in front of the guys.

Leaning his head back on the armrest, he stared straight up at the ceiling and waited for the next stab of pain to come. When it did, he squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth together, silent tears flowing out of his eyes. Soon after, though, he heard a sound like someone ripping tape and then he winced again when the vampire's cold hands touched his shoulder.

"I'm done with your shoulder, son. I'm going to wrap your torso also and re-break you leg, so you're going to have to sit up for me." With help from Jared, Seth painfully sat up. He gritted his teeth together and shook as Carlisle wrapped him up. "I...Have to do your leg now."

"Mhm," Seth grunted, sniffing. "Hold on?"

"Alright, just a quick rest. But I have to start in on it soon, son."

"Mhm." Seth growled, letting the sound build up in his throat before he let out another big one. Leah jumped slightly and turned away, her motherly instincts kicking in for a second.

"Are you okay?" Jacob whispered to her. She nodded a few times.

"'Course."

"Are you ready, son?"

"Wait." He sniffed again. "Quil, I want you to go outside and get a stick. Any stick. And not a _twig_. Hurry up."

"Cool. Fetch," Quil murmured with a short laugh. He ran outside and was back a few seconds later with a medium sized stick.

"This is gonna be a bitch," Seth hissed. He took the stick from Quil and bit down on it. "Go ahead." Carlisle nodded and started on his leg.

Seth bit down harder and harder on the piece of wood.

He bit down harder and dug the fingers of his right hand into the couch cushion. He didn't stop the tears that fell silently down his cheeks, he just bit harder.

"One more," Carlisle announced.

Seth bit harder and opened his eyes slightly. He jerked his head to the left when he heard the crack and shook.

"I'm done." The leech wrapped up Seth's leg. "Alright," he said when he was finished. "That should take about...I'd say a week...Maybe a week and a half. Keep off your feet for the next few days. No shifting until I say so. Bring him by the hospital in a week. Tell them you're there to see me." Carlisle nodded once and darted out the door.

Seth sat back slowly with a sigh and another wince from pain. He felt tired and nauseous and really didn't feel like talking anymore. He felt like if he opened his mouth, he'd blow chunks.

"You need to tell us what happened," Sam said sternly. Seth didn't answer and closed his eyes.

"Seth, how'd...What happened?" Leah asked. Seth opened his eyes and sighed, instantly regretting it when he felt a stab of pain shoot through his chest.

"Fuck..." he groaned. He looked apologetically at Sam and he was and Leah rushed off. She came back with a tin and held it under Seth's head as he vomited. She looked down, so as not to get sick herself.

Seth sat back, closing his eyes again.

"Can I just sleep?" he asked quietly.

"Wait. One more thing," Leah said. "Why did you lie to Jazmyn about Daddy?" she asked quietly. The room was silent.

Seth rolled over and closed his eyes, pretending he didn't hear her.

He didn't _want _to hear her.

**Review please!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	7. Chapter 7

**WHADDUP-WHADDUP BITCHEZZZZZ! Ha-ha, anyway, I hope that you all enjoyed the last chapter. It was fun to write! I didn't get any flames for the ending, so I'm happy!**

**Although...I did notice some split opinions about Jazz's behaviour, though. You said you didn't like her in the chapter...Said you did...Hmm...To be honest, I didn't quite like her behaviour, either. ...Why'd I even write her to be like that...?**

Guest **- YES! The tears were, in fact, fake! Good observation. And yeah, there will be more of their 'friendly encounters' soon.**

WolfsDen **- I get how you wouldn't understand it. She was a bitch, and yeah she did kind of act like a five-year-old. But, I assure you, she will turn out to be nicer soon! So just stay tuned!**

**So...I guess that's it...? So, um, yeah. Enjoy!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Seven

"But I need to-" Seth sat up and then cringed, feeling a sharp pain shoot through his stomach and into his chest. Sam pushed him back down gently.

"What you _need _to do is take it easy. I don't want you getting stressed out and then phasing. It could hurt you more than you already are."

"But-"

"_Seth_," Leah whispered. He looked at her and she eyed him worriedly.

"Jazmyn-"

"We'll send someone by to check on her then," Sam said.

"You don't know how close they were! She could be...D-" Leah slapped a hand on her brother's mouth before he could continue.

"Don't even say it. She's not. I know she's not," she said. She stroked his hair back. "Go to sleep."

"No. Leah-"

"_Sleep_. Don't make me get Mom in here," she ordered sternly. Seth gave her a blank stare and she smirked before kissing his forehead.

"St_op_," Seth whined, reaching up with his good arm to swat her away.

"Whatever," Leah smiled and pushed his hand back, sticking her tongue out playfully. Sam smiled at them and left the room. "Before you drift off to la-la land, did you ever tell her?"

"Huh?" Seth relaxed into his pillow.

"Jazmyn. About _you_."

"She fell asleep before I had the chance."

"_Or_...! You just procrastinated long enough until you got to her house," Leah said matter-of-factly.

"_Or_...!" Seth yawned. "I'm telling the truth and she really did fall asleep." He closed his eyes.

"Alright," Leah sighed. "Sleep tight, butt-munch." Seth lightly hit her arm as she got off the edge of his bed to leave. He smiled slightly and then turned his head so that it was facing the window. He frowned at the gray sky and watched as a flock of birds flew up out of the trees.

He should've gone back. To Jazmyn. He didn't know if she was okay or not. If she...

Seth began to shake and he growled a little bit, trying to push the phasing tremors back. He couldn't phase. Sam's orders.

Quit stressing, Seth.

_Yeah. Quit stressing, _Seth_._

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Jazmyn angrily picked at her food, staring at the empty table in front her.

One week.

She hasn't seen or heard from Seth in a week.

One. Fucking. Week.

If she didn't see him soon, she'd go crazy.

_Like you weren't crazy already, _she thought to herself. _Bitch_.

Who the hell was gonna take her money when she let out a random cuss word?

She was so pissed at him that she even _chewed _pissed.

Why? Why was he being so distant all of a sudden? Was it something she said? Maybe she shouldn't have taken the liberty of falling asleep on him after the bonfire.

Or maybe...It had something to _do _with the bonfire.

Boss had said that he _had _to take her for a walk...Was he being forced to hang out with her? Maybe...Maybe he couldn't take it anymore and was now avoiding her at all costs...?

_Don't be a dumbass, Jazz, _her inner self said. She rolled her eyes and brutally shredded the chicken on her tray.

She frowned harder in deep thought.

Maybe-

Jazmyn snapped out of her thoughts when she saw Leah, Jacob, and the rest of Seth's friends walk in through the cafeteria door. The students in the lunchroom stopped talking for a split second to stare, then went back to whatever it was that they were doing before.

Well, you know, not like Jazmyn actually _cared _about what they were doing before.

_It's...Just-_

Bitch, just stop talking now.

_Thinking._

Thinking.

She returned her focus back to the group that was now sitting at the table closest to the windows. Leah...Jacob...Big Muscular Dudes...Elliot...

_Embry, Jazz, _Em_bry._

Embry...

Kim.

_Claire_...

And that was it.

Seth's friends.

No Seth.

No. Seth.

Jazmyn huffed angrily and slammed her hands down on the table, standing up.

She was so not in the mood for an M.I.A. Seth right now. Her chest hurt and she had a headache...

Hell, she felt like breaking down and crying right then and there in the middle of the cafeteria.

But, of course, she didn't.

Cause that'd make her a crybaby, right?

_Sure. _That's _the word._

Leah - along with everyone else - looked up when Jazmyn made it to their table.

"Tell me where he is and nobody gets hurt," she said, her voice shaking.

"Like _you _could hurt _us_," Paul smirked.

"Does it _look _like I want to play right now?" she shot her worst death glare at him. He just smirked again.

Funny. That usually got 'em back home.

_But you're in La _Push_, now, Jazzy. La _Push_. Cold and wet and rainy. Remember?_

"Tell me where he is," Jazmyn turned to Leah. She kept her angry face on, but she was starting to get desperate now. Her chest throbbed with a sharp pain and her head felt like it could explode at any second.

"He's...sick," Leah said, picking up another forkful of spaghetti. She ate it, as if her brother's imprint wasn't falling to pieces in front of her. "He'll be back soon. Don't get your tits all tied up in a knot." She took another bite.

"Oh. He's..._sick_," Jazmyn repeated, not believing it. "That doesn't explain why he doesn't return my calls."

"He can't speak. Doc's orders. If he does, he can do permanent damage to his vocal chords," Leah said. She shrugged and continued eating.

_Damn_, she thought. _I'm a really good liar, if I do say so myself. _Mentally, she smiled smugly.

Jazmyn crossed her arms and frowned at her.

"You're a fucking _liar_, Leah Clearwater," she hissed, leaning down. Leah looked at her and wiped her mouth.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Prove it," Leah challenged. She quirked a brow and Jazmyn opened and closed her mouth a few times. Finally, she raised her fist and threw a punch at Leah's face, who dodged out of the way just in time.

"Whoa there, honey," Leah held up her hands in defense. Jazmyn screamed in frustration and stomped away, her eyes pricking with tears. Leah only shrugged and turned back around.

"Hm. I feel bad for her," Claire said.

"If Seth would've just come out and _told _her, we wouldn't have to be keeping all of _his _secrets away from her," Embry rolled his eyes. Leah was about to take another bite of her food before she sighed and stood up, throwing her fork down.

"Where are you going?" Kim asked.

"I'm gonna hurl," Leah answered before clamping a hand over her mouth and rushing off towards the bathroom.

"That's the fifth time today," Jacob said quietly. "I'm worried about her." He put his elbows on the table and placed his head in his hands with a rough sigh.

"Aww, Jakey," Kim cooed. Quil smiled sadly at his friend and then returned his attention to Claire, who was standing up.

"Where're you going?" he asked.

"To check on her," Claire answered, going to the bathroom. She entered through the door and walked in quietly, the tapping of her flats echoing throughout the tiled room. "Lee?" She walked to the third stall, where Leah was bent over, vomiting noisily into the toilet bowl. "You okay?" Claire put a hand on her friend's back and brushed her short hair out of her face.

"One day, CeCe. One day..." She flushed the toilet. "Jake is gonna pay for this." Claire smiled and giggled a bit. She hugged her. "No, don't. I smell like shit."

"I've smelled worse. The guys on chili night at Aunty Em's?"

"You have a point there," Leah shrugged. The two sat on the floor in the stall, quietly enjoying each other's company. "Hey, Claire?"

"Mhm?"

"I'm gonna tell you something. And you gotta _promise_ - like, I will fucking _kill you _if you break this promise - that you won't tell anyone."

"Okay." Claire nodded. Leah looked down and then back at her friend. She smiled a bit.

"There's two," she said quietly.

"...Umm, what?"

"There's _two _heartbeats. I heard them. And I...I had a checkup the other day, and...I'm having two, Claire. _Two_."

"'Two?!' As in _'two'_? As in..._Twins_?!" Claire screeched. Leah shushed her and nodded. "Holy crap! _Twins_! Did you tell-"

"No. Only you, me, and my mother know right now. No one else. Not even-"

"Jacob," Claire finished with widened eyes.

"Yeah."

"Wow, umm...I promise I'll keep it, but you gotta tell everyone soon. It's too exciting for me to hold it in for too long." Claire smiled at her.

"Whatever," Leah rolled her eyes. But then they filled with worry and she bit her lip. "Claire, I'm scared."

"Huh?"

"With..." Leah's hands flew around her body and then hovered over her stomach before falling limply to her lap. "_This_."

"Oh." Claire hugged her again, tighter. "You're gonna be okay, Lee. I promise to help you as much as you need. And I know everyone else will, too."

"Yeah, I know. I hate it."

"Why?" Claire laughed a bit.

"'Cause...You're being all sweet and protective and...And..." Leah scrunched up her nose. "Well, frankly, it's getting on my nerves a little!"

"Then we'll back off."

"Yeah. Tell that to _Jacob_."

"He's your imprint and the father-to-be of your babies. Of _course _he'll be 'sweet and protective,'" Claire crossed her eyes at the last part, making Leah smile a bit.

"He's a little _over_-protective."

"Jacob? Over-protective? I have never heard those in the same sentence before in my life." Leah laughed once.

"He is, though," she said.

"He just loves you, that's all." Leah scrunched up her nose again. "He's...Never told you that, has he?"

"...No."

"He's just being a guy. He'll tell you. I know he will. Besides, it's obvious he does. Anyone with eyes can see it all over his face when he looks at you." Leah smiled. Big this time.

"Yeah?"

"Totally." The bell rang then, making the girls sigh. Claire stood up and then pulled Leah to her feet. "Let's get to class before we're late. I can't afford anymore detentions. Aunty Em will have my head."

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Jazmyn froze, her locker door open. She heard Seth's friends as they noisily left the school, saying something about 'going to Sue's' and 'seeing how the Kid is doing'.

She could only guess that _the Kid _was Seth. Her Seth.

_Since when did _you _get so _possessive_?_

When they passed her, she turned to follow them with her eyes, narrowing them a little.

_Fuck, I'm about to do something stupid_...

She closed her locker and ran out the front doors of the school. She had the Nissan today; Miss Pocket had finally gotten Harvey back. She climbed into the car and watched in her rearview mirror as Leah and her crew pulled out.

Jazmyn started her car.

_Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it..._

She pulled out.

_Bitch-_

She followed them.

_Dammit, Jazz!_

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Jazmyn stared at Seth's house through her windshield. Most everyone had gone in through the front, except for Paul and El..._Embry_. She frowned and got out to follow the two.

She creeped slowly along the side of the house and was about to appear in the backyard when she felt a hand yank her back.

"What the-"

"Jazmyn?" Kaden asked with a frown. "You shouldn't be here."

"_Claire _is here. And Kim." Jazmyn frowned like Kaden, hers looking more furious than concerned like his. "Are those two going to Seth? Let me-"

"Come on, I'll drive you home," Kaden started to pull on her arm.

"No! Let me go, asshole! Let. Me. _Go_!"

"Jazmyn," Paul said, appearing from the side of the house. He stared at her. "Leave. You can't be here."

"Why?! I _can _be here! Why'd you go back there, huh? Is Seth back there?!" Jazmyn struggled to remove herself from Kaden's grasp. She wrenched her wrist out of his fingers and clenched her fists at her sides.

"Just go with Kaden," Paul said, clearly annoyed.

"Not until-"

"Can't you get it into your head?! You're _not _supposed to be here so _leave_!" Paul started to shake.

"Bro, watch it," Kaden said, stepping towards Paul, who turned away, still shaking.

"Watch _what_?" Jazmyn hissed. She scoffed. "You know what? I don't give a fuck. I don't care anymore!" Jazmyn screeched at Paul, who got even more annoyed and pissed and became almost a blur. "Don't. _Care_."

_Liar_.

"_Obviously _you're too much of a stubborn-ass douche bag to realize when someone actually _needs _somebody!" Jazmyn continued, her voice raising.

Paul growled and shook even faster.

"Paul, don't!" Kaden yelled. The younger girl stepped back, wondering what was going on. Suddenly, Paul ripped out of his clothes, exploding into a giant wolf right in front of Jazmyn.

It all seemed to happen so quickly; it became a blurry jumble in Jazmyn's mind. All she heard was pointless yelling, ringing in her ears like that time she had a really bad hangover the day after New Years.

_Oh, no. Don't bring _that _up again._

"Jazmyn!"

"Seth! Seth don't-"

"Come back!"

"Dammit, Paul!"

Jazmyn whipped her head to the left just as Seth and Leah burst out of their clothes.

And into wolves.

The _fuck_?

This had to be a dream. It was a dream and a hell-of-a bad one, too.

"S-S..." She stifled a scream by clamping a hand over her mouth. One came out and she clamped the other one over it. Still, she screamed.

Wait.

That wasn't...That wasn't hers.

Her scream, she meant.

"Leah!"

Jazmyn felt a horrible pain in her stomach then, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to get rid of it with her mind. Pulling her hands away from her face she staggered back, clutching her stomach.

The world seemed to sway around her and she moaned in pain.

"_Fuck_..."

She struggled to keep her eyes open and pulled her hand away from her stomach. It had an oozing red liquid dripping off of it and she moaned again.

"Ahh..." was the only word (if you could _call _it a word) that her mouth made. She fell to the ground, landing hard on her butt with her leg folded beneath her. She held her stomach again; it felt like someone had set it on fire, and it hurt to touch. Still, she clutched it like a newborn baby.

Jazmyn looked up, the world still spinning. She saw a giant wolf run towards her and she tried to slide back.

"No...! _No_! Don't-" She cringed in pain, squeezing her eyes shut. She reopened them and Seth was standing in front of her. "S-_Seth_."

Realization hit her. This wasn't a dream. She wouldn't feel this much pain if it were a dream, right?

And...And...

Seth. _Seth_. Her Seth.

He was a...He was a...

"Get away from me!" she screeched. She tried to push him away. "No! Don't touch me! You _monster_!" she yelled. "You...You..." Her eyes felt so heavy and she closed them, feeling herself fall back.

_Just a little...Nap, Jazzy. And you'll be fine._

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Leah stared straight ahead, shaking. Not with phasing tremors. No. Not even _close_.

She clutched the wool blanket tighter around her body, her eyes never leaving the wall. She didn't blink, and her breath came out in short bursts. Her jaw quivered and goose bumps covered her russet colored skin.

There had been so much blood. So. Much. _Blood_.

People were talking around her, but she didn't hear them. Her ears seemed clogged. Like...Like they had been stuffed with cotton. Her mouth felt like it was stuffed with cotton, too.

So...So much b-blood.

Leah's eyes finally broke away from their spot on the wall to look to her left at Jacob. He met her eyes and she looked away, rocking herself back and forth.

"M-m-my-" she said quietly, her voice raspy and quivering. "M-m-my..."

_Blood_.

Her legs felt sticky. Where it had ran down like a waterfall.

Like a waterfall.

_Exactly _like a waterfall. Only in a...In a big gush.

"I-i-it h-h-hurt," she heard herself whisper. The cotton in her ears seemed to be falling out in little patches. She caught snippets of the conversation around her.

"Babies-"

"_Both of them_-?"

"Miscarriage-"

That was it. That was the word. All of the cotton in her ears went away as soon as she heard that word. It stung. Like a thousand hornets.

For the first time in weeks, her eyes filled with tears. Without warning, they began to fall out of her eyes and she started to cry. It was soft at first, and then suddenly she became hysterical.

Jacob sighed and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tight as he could. He kissed the top of her head repeatedly, and on the fifth time he let it linger before closing his own eyes.

He tried not to break. He really did. But when she grasped his shirt into her hands, he...He couldn't help it. He felt one tear slide out of his eye. Then another out of the other one. Finally, he lost the battle.

He broke.

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Seth's leg bounced up and down over and over again as he made quick glances down the hallway. He sat back in his chair and sighed then leaned forward again, placing his elbows on his knees.

Heaven sat next to Miss Pocket, who had her hand over her eyes so her youngest granddaughter wouldn't see her crying. Heaven looked at her and then looked away, not wanting to start herself. She looked up again when a group of big, muscular guys walked into the waiting room. She felt her mouth drop slightly before she clamped it shut when a girl looked at her.

Her eyes followed one of the boys in particular. Of course he was tall like the others, but there was something about him. _Him _in particular. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Biting her lip, she tried to look away but found that it was hard to do considering how beautiful he was.

Embry patted Seth's shoulder and smiled sadly at him. The younger wolf didn't meet his friend's eyes, which made Embry sigh. He sat down and looked around the waiting room. He paused at the desk, eyeing the bowl of candy hungrily before he felt someone else's eyes on him. He looked at the door, then down the hallway where a doctor had just disappeared into one of the many rooms. Embry looked at the row of chairs, where an elderly woman sat crying. Then his eyes landed on a little girl. She stared straight at him and he locked eyes with her.

Red rushed to her cheeks but she didn't look away. Embry's eyes widened and he felt his head slowly tilt to the side in wonder.

She was so beautiful to him suddenly. He didn't know her. Didn't know her name. He just knew that she was suddenly everything to him. He had to keep her safe. Had to protect her at all costs. If she was hurt, he'd find a way to heal her - to make her feel better.

Someone suddenly walked between them and Embry jumped a bit, as if someone had surprised him. Heaven jumped too, feeling as if somebody had just shocked her. Their eyes met again and Embry's face broke out into a bright grin. Heaven smiled shyly back and looked back at her grandmother.

Embry kept staring at her, smiling every time she stole a glance at him. He barely felt it when someone tapped his shoulder. Then he was being pulled up. And...

Out of the hospital?

"Wait-"

"No, no. There's no 'wait'. There's only a _come _and a _now_," Sam commanded. Embry huffed and turned back around to look at the girl again. She stared after him. He lifted his hand in a wave and she did the same thing, but it just sort of hung there limply.

When he disappeared out the mechanical doors, Heaven turned back around, holding her breath.

"_Whoa_," she breathed. She looked up at the other guys sitting across from her. One had their head in his hands and the others were either flipping through magazines or staring at her.

"Aww, isn't it cute? Little Embry got a playmate," Jared cooed jokingly. Kim elbowed him and then smiled at Heaven.

"How old are you?" she asked.

"Twelve," Heaven answered. Miss Pocket looked at her.

"_Heaven_. What have I told you?" she asked sharply. The girl turned her head away from Kim, her face heating up.

"Oh. Yeah."

_Don't talk to strangers, Heav._

Seth sighed and sat up, wincing a little. It still hurt sometimes, but not as much as it used to before.

"Whoa, there," Jared said worriedly.

"I'm fine, really, I'm-"

"Maybe we should take you back home," Kim suggested, knitting her brows together.

"No. I don't need-" Seth stopped when an acrid smell shot up his nose. He whipped his head down the hallway, his eyes widening. Out emerged Dr. Cullen and he somewhat relaxed.

"Jazmyn Anderson?" he asked. Seth stood up quickly, ignoring the pain that followed. He ignored the woman and little girl that stood up, too. Jared pulled Seth back into his seat.

"The fuck, bro?" Seth growled.

"Let them go. I think that's her family," Jared whispered. Seth looked up at the elderly woman and the girl that had just been imprinted on by Embry.

"They look much too nice to be related to _her_," Kim said. Seth turned to growl at her but Jared gave him his look that said 'do it and I'll kill you'. So he restrained himself.

"It was some bear," Carlisle explained, a small smile on his face. He glanced at the Pack. "But she's just fine."

"Oh, thank _God_!" Miss Pocket explained.

"She's under heavy medication right now. We didn't want her to feel anything while we stitched her up. She's sleeping now, but she should wake up fairly soon. Of course, Miss Anderson will be in a lot of pain, but we can fix that." Carlisle smiled.

"Wonderful!" Miss Pocket sniffed with a grin.

"Can we see her?" Heaven asked hopefully.

"Of course. But I apologize that it can only be for a few minutes."

"A few minutes is all we need," Miss Pocket smiled again and followed Carlisle down the hallway. Seth watched them and sat back impatiently.

"I gotta see her..." he growled.

"Hey," Quil quirked a brow at him. Seth growled back and Quil only rolled his eyes before pushing him roughly. "Calm yourself."

"How can I 'calm myself' when the stupid leech is letting _them _see her before I do?" Seth asked, beginning to shake. Kaden put one of his hands on Seth's shoulder.

"Dude, don't stress it. You'll see her soon. Besides, after what _she_ saw...I think that she'll need some time to let it sink in," he explained. Seth looked at his lap then back down the hallway before roughly yanking his shoulder out of his pack brother's grasp.

"Whatever," he said quietly. He looked away, folding his arms across his chest carefully so as not to hurt his chest. It was quiet for a while before Jacob walked in. Seth looked up and then back down. The silence turned into an awkward one; so thick with tension that you could almost choke on it.

"How's she?" Seth found himself asking quietly. He didn't meet Jacob's eyes.

"Y'know, she's..." He sighed. "...She's asleep now."

"Oh. Yeah?" Seth asked. "Hm."

"Jazmyn alright?" Jacob asked.

"Carlisle said she is. He won't let me see her, though."

"Hence the pouty face," Jacob joked. Seth couldn't help himself, he smiled a bit. His brothers laughed and elbowed him playfully.

"Shut up," Seth murmured, slouching in his chair.

"Are _you _alright, Jake?" Kim asked. It was quiet again and the smile on Seth's face faded before he slowly looked up at said wolf, who's attention was on the ground. His hands were in his pockets and he rocked back and forth on his heels. It was quiet again for a long time, only the sound of the occasional ringing phone at the reception desk to fill the silence. Finally, he opened his mouth.

"You know...She was...She was having twins?" he asked. He gave one, quiet laugh. "And...And right when I was happy for her...For us...It just..." He paused for a long time again. "I didn't even get to meet 'em, y'know? See their eyes, or...See 'em smile." He stopped talking again. "They're..." He let out a shaky breath and looked up. Jacob's eyes were glossy, tears threatening to spill over. His mouth was open just a bit, and he shrugged, looking to his left. He looked back at everyone again then away. He squeezed his eyes shut and let a few tears out.

Jared stared, a little awed. He couldn't believe...

Way back in the seventh grade, there was this kid. This kid was the tallest, the fastest, and the meanest person in all of middle school. Jared was afraid of him. Everyone was.

One day, all the guys were playing baseball at lunch. And when Jared went to catch the ball, it hit him square in the eye. He'd fallen back and sat up, and he began to cry. It had hurt. Everything in him was telling his baby tears to stay back but they didn't. And the other seventh grade boys had laughed at him. Called him a 'baby'.

But that kid. That tall-fast-mean kid had helped him up. He took him to the nurse. He walked him home that day. And before Jared went inside, he'd told him to suck it up. Stop crying.

'Don't cry for nothing,' he'd told him. And Jared had listened. Jacob Black turned out to be one of his best friends.

Now here he was, watching as Jacob cried in front of him; not even trying to hold it back. Jared's jaw went slack, hanging open a little bit. He looked away, not wanting to seem rude.

"Aww, Jake..." Kim sighed. She stood up and hugged him, wrapping her arms tightly around his torso in a comforting hug. Jacob gently pushed her off.

"No. Kim, stop. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. Just keep an eye out for Leah, okay?"

"Jacob, this effects you, too. You can't just expect us to push you to the side as if you were nothing," Kaden said.

"Just...Don't...Worry about me, got it? I'm _fine_."

"You don't look 'fine,'" Seth murmured. He looked past Jacob at Miss Pocket and Heaven, who held on tightly to each other with small smiles on their faces. Heaven glanced at the group before looking away quickly. The two disappeared out the door.

"Seth, son?" Carlisle asked, appearing in front of the group. The Pack glared but didn't say anything. How could they? The man had cared for their pack mate. You can't say anything bad about that. "You shouldn't have shifted until I told you, son."

"It...I'm sorry," Seth said. "It was just...Reflex, I guess."

"Right. It's to be expected, I suppose," Carlisle sighed with a smile. "She wants to see you." Seth's eyes widened at this and he sat up.

"Sh-she does?"

"Yes, she does," Carlisle chuckled. "If you'd follow me-"

"Don't fall for it, Kid. He could be-"

"Okay." Seth stood up, ignoring everyone else's advice not to. Screw them. Who cared?

As he trailed behind the vampire doctor, Seth stuffed his hands into his pockets and chewed on the inside of his cheek. He had to say something to him. Anything. Just...Something.

"Thanks for...You know," he whispered. Seth mentally kicked himself.

_Really? That's the _best _you can do?_

"You're welcome. If you ever need anything again, you know you can just...Talk to me anytime?" Carlisle said. Seth's eyes widened.

"Oh. Umm...Sure."

"Here we are." Carlisle knocked once on a door and then opened it.

Jazmyn was laying down on her side, facing away from the heart monitor. She heard the click of the door as it closed and opened her eyes a bit.

"Jazzy?" Seth asked hesitantly. She sighed and Carlisle excused himself from the room. Jazmyn pursed her lips and rolled over to face Seth. He smiled when he saw her and then it faded. He looked at her stomach, although the blanket was covering it.

Jazmyn smiled a bit and sat up carefully. She leaned against the headboard and brushed her hair back with her fingers. After she pulled down the blanket her hands hovered over her stomach for a bit before she lifted up the hospital gown.

Seth avoided looking at her underwear and focused his eyes on the three long scars on her abdomen. They were stitched together and a reddish bluish color. Around the scars it was a different shade of red; like the color of a rash or mosquito bite.

The young wolf's mouth fell open slightly and he began to shake. Jazmyn yanked the gown back down and placed a hand on his arm. He stopped.

"Scars are beautiful. To me," she said. Then she smiled, pulling her hand away. "Shows you're tough." She laughed once and Seth smiled a little bit. It went away quickly, though.

"You're not...You're not afraid of me?" he asked, scooting the chair he was sitting in back once.

"Why would I...? Oh. That." It was quiet and Jazmyn pursed her lips in deep thought. She ran her fingers through her hair; a nervous habit she'd picked up over the years.

_Damn, girl. You have a _lot _of nervous habits._

"I...I was gonna tell you, honestly," Seth stammered. "On the night of the bonfire. But then...Then you fell asleep and I guess that I lost my chance."

"That doesn't explain why you completely and utterly disappeared off the face of the freaking earth for a week!" Jazmyn exclaimed, throwing her hands up.

"Well...There's more..._Things_, I guess you could say, out there. Not just us...Uhh, wolves."

"What do you mean _things_?"

"Vampire things."

"No fucking way." Seth nodded once, giving her a glum smile. "Like...The pale things with capes that fly around 'sah-cking people's vlahd'?" Jazmyn asked, going into a Transylvanian accent at the last three words. Seth smiled and laughed once before nodding again.

"'Cept they don't exactly wear capes. But suck blood, yes. They do. And I...Well, they have a certain smell to them that only us - wolves - can pick up. So when I left your house, it kind of caught me off guard at first. But I followed it and-"

"Vlahd sah-cking?" Jazmyn asked, her voice squeaking.

"Vlahd sah-cking." Seth nodded.

"So does that mean that you're a v-"

"No. No, no, no. They didn't suck mine. But they were going to. I tried to fight them, but I couldn't phase."

"Phase?"

"Change into a wolf."

"Oh."

"I got beat up pretty bad. My shoulder was broken, my leg, and a few cracked ribs."

"Yikes."

"Uh-huh. And Doc wouldn't let me leave the house for a week, because...I mean...Being a wolf comes with perks. One of them is super-fast healing. It would've been weird if I went to school all broken up one day then the next walking around just fine."

"_That's _why Leah lied to me!" Jazmyn exclaimed in realization.

"Probably. Yeah."

"So...There's, like...More, yeah? Paul?"

"Mhm."

"Elliot?"

"Embry, Jazmyn."

"Yeah. Him."

"Yup. And so're Jared, Quil, Kaden, and Jacob. Leah's one, too. The only girl."

"_Sweet_! Girl power!" Jazmyn laughed and stopped when her stomach began to hurt. She winced.

"Are you okay?" Seth asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Just...Yeah. Tell me more, Seth."

And he did. He told her everything. About vampires and werewolves. Just, well, _everything_. Suddenly, imprinting popped into his head and he got quiet.

"What?" Jazmyn asked. "What?" she asked again. When Seth didn't answer, Jazmyn huffed. "Seth Clearwater, _what_?"

"There's this...This thing. Remember? _Imprinting_."

"Oh. Yeah. That third wife thing, right?"

"Mhm." Seth nodded. "But...It wasn't really explained that well, I guess. It's like..." Seth looked up, trying to find the right words. "It's finding your soul mate, as...Cheesy as it sounds. You're bound forever through some way. You look into her eyes, and..." He locked eyes with Jazmyn and smiled. He spoke again, his voice breathy and quiet."They're suddenly everything to you. You'll be anything they want you to be. A...Big brother. A friend. Or, maybe..." He sighed. "Something...More."

"Yeah?" Jazmyn asked quietly.

"Yeah." Seth stared deeply into her eyes. "I've found mine. My imprint."

"O-oh. Well...She must be a...Really lucky girl, then," Jazmyn whispered, playing with the ends of her hair. She looked down, disappointed that he'd already found someone to spend the rest of his life with.

"But Jazz. The only reason that I'm telling you all this is because...I've imprinted on you."

"M-me?" Jazmyn squeaked, pointing to herself. Her heart began to speed up, making the monitor next to her beep faster. "So...You're forced to love me then."

"No, Jazzy, no. I could never be forced to love someone. If anything...Imprinting makes a relationship stronger."

"Oh...Oh, um...Ah...So does that mean...? So we're...Together now, right?" she asked.

"Only if you want to be," Seth answered.

"Okay, from here on out we are now Seth and Jazmyn. Jazmyn and Seth. The Two Musketeers...With many, _many _benefits." She smiled. "Come here. I wanna kiss you." Seth smiled and stood up, leaning in to kiss her. He cupped her cheek and pressed his lips to hers, making her heart beat more with excitement. The heart monitor started to go crazy and the door burst open.

"What is - oh!" one of the nurses exclaimed. Seth and Jazmyn pulled away and stared at her. "I'll just...I'll..." She left hastily, shutting the door behind her.

"I think that's my cue to head out," Seth whispered. He kissed her again.

"Oh. M'kay. Be back soon, though?"

"Of course."

Jazmyn hesitated before smiling. When Seth was at the door she called out, "Love you...!" She bit her lip when he turned to her. He grinned back.

"Love you, too."

**Annnnddddd...There it is! I hoped that you liked it! Long, but good? Bad? Okay? Review please!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

Leah felt as if she was floating, walking into school Monday morning. Nothing seemed real to her. To Leah, it was as if she were in some really bad dream...And she couldn't wake up.

She couldn't get to sleep at all. And when she finally did, she would wake up at the strangest times of the day to vomit - as if she was still pregnant. But she knew she wasn't.

She heard no heartbeats.

Still, she got sick as if she was still carrying her children. She didn't mind much. It would pass. Soon. Hopefully.

Maybe.

Jacob couldn't help but steal glances at her. Leah's once chiseled, gorgeous face - still gorgeous to Jacob, no matter what - seemed to be sunken in now. Her eyes were dull and there were dark circles under them. Her russet skin seemed to lose its brightness; she was almost pale.

It worried him. He didn't like seeing her this way, and wished he could just...Make her suffering disappear somehow. But she was grieving. They both were.

Still, she needed him more than anything right now.

Jacob tightened his hold on her hand and rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. She didn't say anything, and he planted a tender kiss on the side of her face near her eyebrow. Again, she said nothing. She didn't even react to it. Jacob sighed gruffly and looked down.

Leah stopped at her homeroom and shifted her backpack to her other shoulder.

"I'll see you at lunch, 'kay?" Jacob asked her quietly. Leah pushed open the classroom door and disappeared. Trying not to show his hurt, Jacob began his trek towards East Wing.

The talking seemed overly loud to Leah as she made her way to her desk. She stared at a giggling group of girls for a second before walking past them to her seat. One of the girls patted her friends' shoulders and they stared at Leah, who sat down without a word. The trio looked at each other before raising their eyebrows and continuing their conversation.

Leah stared at her desk, absentmindedly doodling on it with her pencil. She started writing down two names, remembering her plans on bestowing them upon her children.

Of course...She _was _going to do that.

But that was before...Yeah.

A girl and a boy. That's what she had wanted. A girl, so that she could have a little one to shop with and do everything that a girl likes to do. And a boy...A boy for Jacob. So he could teach him to play catch...Take him fishing...

But those dreams were gone now.

She wrote: _Aubrey and Josiah Clearwater-Black, January 5, 2013_

Leah felt her eyes well up with tears and she placed a hand over her mouth before picking up her bag and bolting out the door.

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Jacob sat down at Emily's table. Claire cocked her head, knowing that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong, Jake?" she asked.

"Leah. I haven't seen her since this morning," he answered. Seth glanced at him from his place on the couch then went back to texting Jazmyn.

"She'll be fine," he said. "She's related to _me_, isn't she?"

"Shut up," Embry elbowed him playfully. "Who you chatting with? Jazmyn? Ask her about that girl she was-"

"No," Seth cut him off. "You can do that yourself."

Embry reached for Seth's phone. "Then hand me the-"

"I don't think so." The younger wolf pushed Embry away. "Control yourself."

"But I gotta-"

"Will you two cut it out? You're acting like children," Sam said firmly. Embry huffed angrily and sat back, folding his arms over his chest. That's when Leah came in, taking a seat next to Jacob at the table.

"See? Fine," Seth murmured, his thumbs dancing over the buttons of the cell phone, trying to figure out how to reply. He wrote back something funny, smiling to himself then slid his phone into his pocket. Embry stared at him and Seth smirked before standing up.

"Don't you have homework or something, pup?" Embry asked.

"What's the point of homework? Isn't six and a half hours of _school _enough?" Seth asked, irritated.

"You should do your homework," Jacob said, not looking up from Leah.

"What about you guys?" Seth asked stubbornly.

"Already done," Jared and Quil answered at the same time.

"Mine isn't due till Thursday. I got time," Embry added. Seth got similar replies from everyone else. Sam smirked at him.

"Right..." Seth rolled his eyes.

"Do your homework," Leah murmured flatly, not looking up from her hands. Seth stared at her for a long time before he picked up his backpack and threw it down on the table. He sat down, took out his geometry textbook, a piece of paper, and a pencil, then stared at her again.

"Happy?"

"Quite," she murmured again.

"You don't look happy," Seth said.

"What are you talking about? This is my happy face."

"...Leah, you're being stupid."

"You're being an asshole."

"_You're _being a bitch."

"Ouch," Leah murmured. She laughed quietly once, still staring at her hands. "You really gotta watch that mouth of yours, Baby Bro."

"Yeah. Uhuh."

"No need for the attitude."

"What attitude?"

"That one."

"I'm sorry, the last time I checked you didn't give birth to me, Leah. And frankly, you can't..." Seth stopped himself. Leah looked up at him. "Working." He rolled his eyes and opened his book to the assigned work for the day.

Leah stood up, "Yeah. Uhuh."

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Seth hesitated, staring up at the big, iron gates of the cemetery. He turned around and took in a deep breath before marching through the gates and down the path. He stuffed his hands into his pockets; even though he was basically immune to the cold, he shivered some.

He didn't exactly know where Harry was buried, but...His feet seemed to have minds of their own, and he walked all the way down the little dirt pathway. Past the bush that housed countless bees in the summer...A little ways by the old oak tree...

And he stopped. His tombstone didn't stick up like most did. It was placed on the ground, like a plaque of some sort. The words _Harrison Clearwater _seemed to gleam and glisten, even in the disappearing light.

Seth felt himself not wanting to believe it at first.

He dropped down onto his knees and reached for the plaque, then withdrew his hand; afraid of it suddenly. Finally, he forced himself to touch it. After placing both of his hands face down on the stone, he felt himself beginning to shake.

Seth ran his hands over the indentions where his name and years were. He shook more and tears stung his eyes.

"Dad," he whispered, his voice quivering. He kept his hands on the plaque, running his fingers over and over again on the words. He tried to grasp the warmth of his father through them; to feel him somehow. But it was hard, considering that the stone was so cold to the touch.

Jacob stared at Seth, not wanting to bother him. He held a small bouquet of flowers in his hand - for Sarah, his mother. He was sort of surprised that he'd found Seth here, not thinking that he'd ever be able to face seeing his father's grave. He opened his mouth to say something but stayed back. He took three steps towards the younger wolf, being quiet as he listened to him whisper Harry's name over and over again.

Seth squeezed his eyes shut and sighed.

"Can you guys just leave me alone for _five minutes_? Don't you have your own lives to mess around with, or something?" he asked angrily. He didn't turn around to look at Jacob.

"I was just on my way, Kid. You're not the only one who's lost a parent, you know," Jacob said with a shrug. Seth turned slightly, nodding a bit.

"Hm." Seth stood up, folding his arms over his chest.

"It's her birthday today," Jacob said with another shrug.

"Tell her I said 'happy birthday' then."

"Kid, why don't you try talking to him? It's not the best thing...You know, being a crazy lunatic that talks to graves, but...It's better than nothing. It's almost as if they're right there with you. If you took the time-"

"I don't _have _the time. I'm done crying over the old man, Jake. It's time to move on." Seth started walking off, but stopped when Jacob kept talking.

"But are you _ready _to move on? Nine years later and I still don't think I am. Harry's only been gone a month, Kid." Seth hesitated.

"But that's _you_. This is...It's _me_, got it? Two different people. It's...Different for everybody," he replied. Quite unconvincingly, I might add. "I'm not gonna beat myself up over this anymore. He decided it was time to go, and...I personally could care less. He didn't want to wait for the damn paramedics, and I don't give a crap. He's gone, life moves on." Jacob sighed roughly.

"Kid-"

"I'm out," Seth cut him off and jogged back up the path towards the entrance. Jacob stared after him until he disappeared before he turned and walked away.

He smiled when he found her headstone and kneeled down to place the flowers in front of it.

"Hey, Mom."

000000000000000000000

Jazmyn felt annoyed at the amount of attention her grandmother was giving her. Sure, it was nice at first, but after a while...It just started to get so _annoying_.

One second, she's floating around her asking if she needs anymore pillows. Then two seconds later after the pillows have been delivered - with_out_ Jazmyn's consent - she's asking to elevate her feet and then does it before the poor girl could even get a word out.

Jazmyn huffed, making her bangs fly up and out of her face.

"Gramma, the food's burning," she said flatly.

"My casserole!" Miss Pocket flew into the kitchen.

"_Finally_!" Jazmyn praised in exasperation. Trying to work over the pain, Jazmyn leaned forward to get her cell phone. "Ow, ow, ow, ow...!" She squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip, grasping the phone in her hands and leaning back with a sigh. She dialed Seth's number and held it up to her ear.

"_Yeah_?" he asked after the third ring.

"Come over. Gram's driving me-"

"Jazz, do you want iced tea or hot? No lemon or with lemon? Sweet or-"

"Sur_prise_, me, Grams!" Jazmyn yelled. "You _see_?" she squealed. Seth only chuckled. "Why are you laughing? This is _not _a laughing moment, Seth Clearwater!"

"_No, no...You're just cute is all_," he said.

"Aww..." Jazmyn cooed. "Now come over." Seth laughed again at how quickly her mood had changed.

"_Aye, aye, captain_!" He hung up and Jazmyn stood, placing her phone into her pocket. Suddenly, she felt self conscious of herself. She'd never felt this way when she was going to see Seth before.

Then again, Seth hadn't been her _boy_friend before.

And look at her; in a pair of embarrassing rubber-duck shorts and an ugly Kiss t-shirt.

_Hey! This shirt happens to be my _favorite_, thank-you-very-much!_

Sorry. A _cute _Kiss t-shirt.

_Better!_

"Jazmyn, I have your...Where do you think you're going?" Miss Pocket came in with a plate of casserole and a glass of iced tea.

"I'm...Not hungry anymore, Grams. I was just going up to my room for a bit of...Homework! Yeah, homework!"

"Oh, well...I guess I'll just give this to Heaven, then. Do you need me to-"

"No!" Jazmyn yelled. Miss Pocket frowned. "I mean...It's _alright_, Gramma! I'm _totally _fine!" Jazmyn took a step up the stairs and tripped, cursing when a surge of pain shot through her stomach. "See? _Fine_." She turned and cringed then looked back at her grandmother and smiled.

"Al_right_, but I'll be up in an hour to check-"

"Okay! Love you, bye!" Jazmyn hurried as fast as she could up the stairs and to her room. She turned on the light and rifled through her closet, trying to find something to wear.

"What are you doing?" Heaven asked, plopping down on her cousin's bed. She took a sip of tea from the glass in her hand and made a face. "Ew. Gramma _knows_ how much I hate lemon..." She put it on the floor.

"He's gonna be here any-"

"Hey," a deep voice said casually from the window. Jazmyn and Heaven screamed and jumped.

"SHH!" Jazmyn hissed, shutting her door.

"_Wow_...!" Heaven cooed dreamily. Seth smiled, climbing in the window and sitting on its ledge. He looked at Jazmyn and smiled.

"Your shirt rocks," he chuckled. Jazmyn felt her face heat up - _oh, Lord, why? _- and she looked down at it. "And I like the ducks. Very, uh, _nautical_." Heaven snorted with laughter and Jazmyn shot her a death glare, making the younger girl shut up immediately. She finally brought herself to look at Seth's face. Something was different about it.

He met her eyes and it clicked instantly.

"Heaven. Out. Now."

"But_ why_?"

"Now."

"_Why_?" Heaven whined.

"If you don't get out now, I'll...I'll..."

"You'll _what_?"

"Heaven! Phone!" Miss Pocket called from downstairs. "It's your father!"

"Deuces!" the young girl said, shooting up from the bed and running out the door. "I'm coming!"

Jazmyn shut her door, leaning against it with the knob still in her hands. Seth was on her bed now, staring into her eyes curiously.

"You've been crying," she said quietly. She knew the face of crying. It was an expression that she was no stranger to.

Yes. Because even Jazmyn Anderson has - oh, the horror - cried.

Seth looked down and then back at his imprint's face as she sat down next to him.

"What's wrong, Sethy?" she asked, leaning on his shoulder. "I don't want you to cry."

"But I haven't been-"

"Don't lie to me." Jazmyn shot up and stared him down. Seth couldn't look away from her icy blue eyes, and sighed. He finally looked away, folding his arms across his chest. "Why? As your girlfriend and imprint I have a right to know, mister." She took his chin into her fingers and made him face her.

"It...It's my...It's my dad. No big deal."

"'No big _deal_?' That's your dad, though. He can't just be _'no big deal._'" Jazmyn ignored the part of her that ached for her own father, and focused on Seth. "Did you guys get in a fight?"

"No. Nothing like...Nothing like that." He moved her hand away from his face and held it in his own. "It's...It's nothing. Forget it."

"No it's not. I can tell that it's bothering you. What's happening with your dad? Is it me?"

"Not at all! Jazmyn, why would you think that?" Seth asked, surprised. Jazmyn gave him a small smile.

"'Cause. Dads can be possessive over their sons, too." Seth smiled at her, but it faded quickly.

"I think I have something to tell you."

"You _think _or you _know_?"

"...I _know_."

"Chat."

Seth looked down again, hesitant to tell her the truth about his father. Jazmyn waited, somewhat impatient. She leaned forward to try and look into his eyes.

"My dad...He's been...He's been dead. For about a month now," Seth finally said. "And I only told you what I told you, because...I don't know. Just...Ah, it's over now. Stupid. I'm done crying for him."

"_Dead_?! Seth, why didn't you tell me?"

"I don't know! See? I told you, it was stupid."

"There's nothing stupid about the death of a parent," Jazmyn replied, her voice cold. "You could've talked to me. Coulda told me."

"And I know that now. I really do, Jazz."

"But why were you crying?"

"Cause I went to see him today, and-" Seth stopped. "All my guilt came rushing back."

"Guilt?"

"I feel like it's...I _know _it's my fault that he was shot, but everyone tells me otherwise. But when I went to see him, I felt guilty." He looked down, feeling stupid and embarrassed for telling her that. He sighed gruffly.

"I'm done crying over it now. According to everyone, it's not my fault. He got shot. He's gone. I'm over it."

"But it's alright to cry, Seth."

"I told you. I'm _done_. I'm off of it."

"But-"

"_Off of it_, Jazmyn," Seth stared deep into her eyes to make her get the message. She opened her mouth to speak again, but it kind of just hung open a bit. She clamped it shut and looked at their hands, his grasping hers as if his life depended on it.

She made a silent pact never to bring up his father or their conversation ever again. She glanced at him and squeezed his hand, positive that he got the message. Seth smiled, and kissed her temple.

"So you know...Embry's imprinted," he said after a little while of silence. The two were stretched across the bed on their backs now, their fingers still laced together.

"Really? Aww, I'm happy for little Elliot," she cooed. If you wouldn't have known any better, you would've thought she was being sarcastic.

Which, knowing Jazmyn, she probably was.

But she meant it truthfully. Honestly!

"Jazzy, it's _Embry_."

"That's what I said, _duh_!"

"No, you said _Elliot _again."

"What?" Jazmyn snorted and looked at Seth. "Did not!"

"Why do you do that? Call him Elliot. You've known him for almost two weeks. I would've thought that you'd be calling him by his real name by now."

"Yeah. I know his name," Jazmyn rolled her eyes and smirked.

"Then how come you choose _not _to call him by his real name?"

"'Cause," Jazmyn shrugged. Seth stared at her until she sighed. "Truthfully?"

"Truthfully."

"I just like the name Elliot. Embry's a guy. His name starts with _E_. Thus I shall call him _Elliot_."

"Oh, Lord, did you just use the word _thus_?"

"Got a problem with that, boss?" Jazmyn frowned and grinned, kissing his jaw. Seth laughed. "Anyway, who's the lucky girl? Bet she's pretty. Wait...Don't tell me it's some wimpy schoolgirl. She had a crush on him since, like, the fifth grade? Then _finally_ he looks at her and imprints?" Jazmyn rolled her eyes, remembering how Claire had described Jared's imprinting on Kim.

"No. It's your cousin," Seth answered simply.

"_What_!?" Jazmyn screeched, shooting up. "_Shit_!" she cursed, her stomach burning with pain.

"Whoa, there. Take it easy, tiger," Seth chuckled.

"_Heaven_?!" Jazmyn squealed, letting Seth push her back down gently. "Heaven. As in H-E-A-V-E-N _Heaven_?! The Heaven that sleeps in the frilly pink bed across the hall _Heaven_?!"

"Yeah," Seth shrugged, lying on his side to look at her. He leaned his head in the palm of his hand and played with the ends of Jazmyn's hair. "That Heaven." He looked at her. "Oh, and by the way, that's one."

"There's a few bucks in the coffee cup on my desk. Take _one_, if it'd make you feel better."

"Nah, I'll let it slide today. 'Cause you were surprised."

"Aww, thanks." Jazmyn smiled at him. Then it faded away and her blue eyes stared unbelievingly into Seth's brown ones. "_Heaven_."

"_Yes_."

"Next time I see him, remind me to slap him senseless."

"He can't control it, Jazmyn. It's like spontaneous combustion. It just...Happens."

"And it just had to spontaneously combust on my little _cousin_?!"

"Guess so, yeah."

"I'm still gonna slap him."

"Not if you wanna walk away with a broken hand."

"Oh, yeah. You guys are like, hard as rock, I _swear_." Seth smiled at her, taking her hands and kissing each of the fingers.

"It's just one of the..._Many _perks to being a wolf." Jazmyn grinned back at him.

"Don't forget in_sanely_ attractive," she said.

"Oh, no. We mustn't forget something as important as _that_."

"And funny," Jazmyn grinned wider.

"Mhm."

"And..." Jazmyn didn't finish, but instead Seth pressed his mouth to hers. Her mind went blank and she moaned with pleasure, running her tongue across his lips. He opened his mouth and she slid her tongue in, feeling goose bumps rise on her skin.

Seth was careful of her injuries, and held her loosely; not wanting to hurt her. Even so, her shirt came up a bit just as she rolled over to lay on top of him. She pulled away quickly, their lips making a sucking noise.

"Ah," she breathed, cringing a little.

"Sorry," Seth muttered, nuzzling her neck.

"You're good," she replied, and planted feathery light kisses onto his shoulder blade and up to his chiseled jaw line. She took in a deep breath through her nose, breathing in his comforting scent.

_Pine_, she decided. _And Axe._

Oh, how she loved Axe.

Seth planted chaste kisses on her lips and then Jazmyn pulled him closer, making the last one another long one.

"Mmm," she moaned and giggled a bit. He smiled and kissed her cheeks, then more on her lips.

As quietly as she could, Heaven opened the door. Her mouth dropped when she saw her cousin performing mouth-to-mouth on the Hot Muscular Guy From Jazmyn's Window.

Because that's what she had to be doing, right? He'd stopped breathing, and now she was saving his life.

Then, slowly, it dawned on her. He was breathing alright.

Muscular Guy was _definitely _breathing.

But it was rough, and so was Jazmyn's.

Heaven watched with widened eyes as Jazmyn slid his shirt off, all the while still kissing him. _Obviously _Jazz had done this before. I mean, considering the way she'd done that like a pro. Heaven cocked her head to the side, mentally taking notes on how their-

"Heaven Angela _Anderson_! What _are _you doing?" Miss Pocket asked sharply, making the younger girl yelp. She slammed the door shut and turned.

"Nothing, Gramma. Just-"

"What's going on in there?" Miss Pocket asked.

"Gram-"

Before the poor girl could even get a word out, her grandmother had yanked the door open.

"I'm sorry, Jazz! I-" Heaven stopped. Jazmyn was sprawled on her bed asleep, a book lying just to the side of her face. Hot Muscular Guy was gone, in his place...Nothing.

Absolutely _nothing_.

The _windows _were even closed.

Heaven's mouth dropped and she stared, astonished.

"B-b-but...There..."

"Now, _Heaven_. Leave your cousin alone. She's had a rough couple of days. Go take a shower. Get ready for bed. You have school in the morning," Miss Pocket said, walking quietly across Jazmyn's shag carpet to place a tender kiss on her forehead.

"Grams...?" Jazmyn opened her eyes a bit and yawned.

"I'm sorry we've bothered you, honey. Go back to sleep. I'll be by to check on you in the morning, okay?" And with that, she threw a housecoat over Jazmyn's shoulders, and she closed her eyes again. "It's late, Heav. Get your shower and go to bed."

"B-b-but..."

"Come on, then." Miss Pocket pulled Heaven away and shut the light off, closing the door softly behind her. Jazmyn popped one eye open and then the other one. She grinned slyly and sat up slowly. She did a happy dance on her bed, sticking her tongue out and making faces at the door. She gasped slightly when it burst open and she plopped back down on her bed, pretending to look asleep on again.

"How'd you _do _that?" Heaven asked, turning the light on. Jazmyn smiled and sighed.

"Years and years of practice, my darling. Years of practice."

000000000000000000000

Natalie groaned and trudged behind David and Casey, a pout on her face. She folded her arms across her chest and stomped behind them.

_Why _Nathanial made them come back to this place _every night _would _never _cease to amaze her. Nothing ever happens!

Well...Except for that time with the shape shifter. But that was almost two weeks ago. There's been no action since.

All she wanted was to go back home and feed on the delicious humans that had been so nice as to stumble upon their mansion. But _no_.

"Go check on her, he says. I need to know that she's _safe_, he says," she mimicked.

"Natalie, would you shut _up_?" David hissed, annoyed. The girl made a face at him, but kept quiet.

In her head, Natalie hoped that they'd run into the little shifter again. It had been fun to beat him up and tease him. He was so little and cute...

_Cute? Hm. Cute my ass._

The three appeared at Miss Pocket's cozy little home and stared up at Jazmyn's window. They backed away into the forest just as she climbed out, perching herself on the roof. They stared up at her as she took a photo frame from being tucked away inside the crook of her arm. She kissed it and sighed.

"Nat...You won't _believe_ how much I..." she sighed again. "My stomach bursts into butterflies every time I see him, or think of him..."

"I think I might be sick," Natalie muttered. "She's fine. Can we go now?"

"Why do you complain, Natalie? Don't you enjoy your outings?"

Said vampire froze at the sound of her boss's voice. She laughed nervously and stammered a reply. David and Casey exchanged annoyed looks and bowed their heads at Nathanial, who smiled. They stepped to the side, just as Jazmyn began to sing lightly.

"_Red and blue and yellow..._" Nathanial whispered along with her in a sing-song voice. He frowned. "Any sign of the shifter?"

"No. But he was here. I smelled him," Casey answered. David nodded in agreement.

"He'll be back. There's a whole horde of them around here."

"That means that we won't be able to stay long. Three of us against so many of them? We might as well just _throw _ourselves on 'em," Natalie said pessimistically. Nathanial chuckled.

"That's exactly what I plan on doing." He looked back up at Jazmyn. "But first..." He stepped out of the forest, his young minions watching him. "Jazzy?" he called.

Jazmyn stopped singing and looked down, expecting to see Seth. But she was taken aback by who she did see.

And it wasn't Seth.

Her housecoat slipped from her shoulders and she blinked.

It couldn't be. No, no, no. It couldn't be.

He's been...He'd been _dead_. For years now.

"Nat?" she squeaked. He smiled at her and she climbed down carefully from the roof. "I know that I'm dreaming but this is the best dream I've had in so long! Well, aside from the-" She stopped when he clamped a cold hand over her mouth.

"You're not dreaming, little sister," he said with a smile. "I'm really here." Jazmyn's eyes widened and she mumbled something incoherent due to the fact that her brother's hand was clamped over her mouth. He pulled it away.

"Holy _shit_!" She looked around and then touched her stomach. She cursed and stepped back. "Okay. Not...Dreaming. _Wow_," she breathed. She reached out to touch his dark brown hair and he smiled at her. "You're...You're so pretty." Nathanial smiled and laughed a bit.

"Thanks, sis." He looked up and then back down at her. "Come with me. Away from here. There's so many things I can show you. We can finally escape the hell hole that's our _lives_, Jazmyn."

"But...If I'm not dreaming, and...And you're really Nat...You'd never just tell me to come with you. You'd ask if I was happy where I was. And...For once? I am, Nat. I..." Jazmyn smiled. "I've found someone."

"Oh, please don't tell me it's that _dog_," Nathanial hissed. Jazmyn stepped back.

"You know-"

"Of _course_ I know! I can smell him all over you!" he hissed again. Jazmyn looked down and something clicked in her head suddenly. She started to back away more with fear. She felt weird, backing away from her own brother like this.

"You're a...A..."

"Vampire? Yeah, as a matter of fact, I _am_. And a damn good one, too. My profession? Wiping out the shifters. They don't _deserve _to live on this earth. That's why I want you to come with me. To fight by my side. I can change you. We can _go _places, Jazzy! Wiping out the shape shifting race. You and me! The Two Musketeers! Remember? How we were-"

"_Seth_," Jazmyn whispered.

"Not _him _again."

"I won't go with you, Nat."

"Are you _crazy_? You'd rather be with a...A...Smelly _dog_, than your own brother?"

Jazmyn pursed her lips, feeling guilty. The way he'd said _brother _made her feel it. He said it like he was hurt.

"I..."

"Never mind. You'll change your mind eventually." Nathanial smiled to himself. He took Jazmyn's hand and placed her on his back.

"Ow!" she cried.

"Oh. Right. Your injury. Hey, didn't that _dog _give it to you?"

"Yeah, but-"

Jazmyn didn't have a chance to speak before Nathanial had laid her on her bed. He tucked the blanket around her up to her chin. He smiled at her.

"You'll change your mind, little Jazzy. You will. I know you will."

"Nat-"

"Shh..." he whispered. He put his fingers lightly on her cheek. "Shh..." Nathanial smiled at her. "Sleep," he whispered.

Jazmyn felt her eyelids get heavy and she started to nod off. She opened them once more to get another look at Nathanial.

"Close your eyes. And sleep."

Jazmyn did.

And when she woke up, her brother was gone.

Hm. It really was a dream.

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**~SashaFierce12.0**


	9. Chapter 9

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Chapter Nine

Embry was going to go crazy.

And not just because he hadn't eaten in fifteen minutes - the longest he's ever gone without food besides when he's sleeping. No. Not because of that.

It had been one week, two days, and three _hours _since he had first and last seen his imprint. And if he didn't see her soon...

He'd go crazy.

Point simple.

His chest ached with the imprint tug and he felt like he could croak at any second. But he didn't. Because what would happen to his imprint if he did?

"Hey, Em."

"_What_?" he growled. Seth quirked a brow and Embry looked at the ceiling with a sigh. "Sorry."

"Whatever. Hey, do you _really _want to see your imprint?"

"_Yes_!" Embry practically yelled. Seth chuckled.

"I can tell Jazzy to bring her over. Just don't die." He went back to his phone, vigorously typing away on the keypad.

Embry felt as if he were on Cloud Nine at that moment. Nothing could bring him down. _Nothing_.

Not even...

"Sorry, guys. I'm out of muffins. I won't be able to get any mix until tomorrow. That snowstorm shut down all the supermarkets!" Emily said with a shrug.

Not even _that_. Embry was much too happy to care about Emily's shortage of muffins.

He waited - quite impatiently, I might add - for the arrival of the precious little girl that he'd seen in the waiting room of the hospital. He thought back to how beautiful her blue eyes were. Her eyelashes had been ridiculously long, he remembered. And when she blinked, it was as if a giant curtain had covered her beautiful eyes, but then they'd open back up again to reveal the blue.

And he was happy.

She had the longest black hair, and it fell in silky-looking ringlets to her waist.

She was beautiful, no doubt.

And she was _his_. His _imprint_. He loved her.

Not like _that_. She was obviously too young for _that_.

But in time...Yes. Definitely.

For now, he was her protector. And he loved her. No matter what.

"Seth Clearwater, it will never cease to amaze me why you couldn't have come and picked me up in your nice warm truck!" Jazmyn said as soon as she came in. She brushed snow off her hat and out of her hair. "It's so freaking _cold_!"

"Leah had the truck today. Sorry," Seth stood up and greeted her with a kiss. Jazmyn smiled.

"Well...Okay. C'mere." She kissed him again and he slid off her coat, deepening their kiss. Sam cleared his throat and the two pulled away, Seth smirking, Jazmyn looking slightly annoyed. "Oh. Hey, Boss." She grinned and waved.

"Been awhile, Jazmyn."

"Yup! Emily, it smells good in here!"

"Thank you. I'm baking brownies."

Jazmyn turned back and rolled her eyes at someone.

"Heaven, they won't _bite_. Come on."

"There's snow on my boots, let me...Okay! Hi! My name's Heaven! Thank you for inviting me to your home!" the young girl smiled and waved at everyone.

"Wow. The dark hair and blue eyes thing must run in the family," Emily noted. Jazmyn smirked and bent down to wrap her arms around her cousin's shoulder.

"She _obviously_ gets it from _moi_!"

"Whatever, Cuz," Heaven swatted her away. Jazmyn stuck her tongue out at her and Heaven did the same, standing on her tiptoes to get her point across. The two ended up giggling Heaven looked around at everyone.

"_Wow_..." she squeaked, eyeing all the tan and muscular men around her. "There's a _lot _of you...Whoa..." she looked at Kaden and smiled.

"So...That's Kaden," Seth said, pointing at who Heaven was eyeing. "And Sam and Emily. Claire and Quil...Paul. Jacob's right there...Leah's...Somewhere. Ahh...Jared and-"

"Kim," Jazmyn answered, folding her arms across her chest. Kim only rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. And Embry right there," Seth smiled at Heaven as she turned to look at Embry. He stood up and held out his hand for her to shake. She stared at him with her mouth open and pink rushed to her cheeks. Everyone chuckled as she finally shook his hand quickly.

"_Wow_..." she whispered. Embry grinned at her.

"So you're...How old?" he asked.

"Twelve," Jazmyn answered, pulling Seth to sit down. She plopped onto his lap.

"And a _half_," Heaven answered in a 'duh' voice.

"Sure." Jazmyn rolled her eyes.

"Why don't you sit, Heaven? Take your coat off." Emily took the younger girl's coat and draped it over the coat rack. Tentatively, the young girl sat down a foot or so away from her imprinter, looking down at her piggy socks.

"Tell us about yourself," Emily kept on talking. "Interests? Pet peeves...Anything, sweetie." She looked at Embry, who was just staring at Heaven with an awed expression. She cleared her throat and he looked at her, his face breaking out into a sheepish grin. He returned his attention back to his imprint. Her kicked her legs around with her lips pursed. She looked up and blushed when she saw Embry staring at her, which only made the wolf smile even wider.

"Interests...? Mmm...Food. Definitely," she answered, causing everyone to laugh.

"She's your cousin alright," Seth said to Jazmyn lovingly, and she smiled at him before kissing his cheek.

Happy that she'd made everyone laugh, Heaven relaxed and sat up. She glanced at Embry and grinned.

"Pet peeves...Hmm...I've never really encountered anything that has peeved me...Oh. Wait." She scrunched up her nose and Embry raised his eyebrows, amused at how cute she looked.

His smile widened.

"Birds. Oh, my gosh, I _hate _birds." Like before, everyone laughed.

"Why?" Kaden asked with a small chuckle. "What'd Tweety ever do to you?"

"He _stole_ my _cookie_, that's what he did!" Heaven practically screeched, waving her arms around. "And it was the _good_ kind, too! All homemade and ooey-gooey in the center with chocolate chips everywhere...And _then_...!" She scoffed. "The damn bird just...Snatched it right out my hand!"

"_Definitely_ your cousin," Kim muttered, glancing at Jazmyn. To everyone's surprise, she was actually smiling. Jazmyn quirked a brow and rolled her eyes, but she smiled, too.

"I like Heaven. Can we keep her?" Quil asked, earning more laughter. Heaven smiled at everyone, happy that her cousin had brought her here.

Leah came through the door, looking more tired than usual. She didn't even as much glance at Heaven before she was sitting down on the floor a little ways away from Jacob's feet. He didn't look at her.

"Hi," Heaven smiled and waved at Leah.

"Embry's girl. Hm. You're young," the female wolf, not even looking Heaven's way.

"'Embry's girl?'" Heaven asked. She looked at said wolf who glared at Leah. Jazmyn grinned, loving every second of this. She leaned forward.

"'Course. Didn't he tell you?" Leah looked at Heaven for the first time since she'd walked in. Her eyes were rimmed with red and she had dark circles under her eyes. "You're his-"

"_Leah_!" everyone yelled.

"What?"

"He didn't, obviously," Seth rolled his eyes.

"Oh. You should do it soon. Little girls get curious." With that, Leah turned back to look at the TV, where a football game was playing. She stared at it, bored.

Heaven looked around at everyone.

"What's she talking about?" she asked.

"Nothing. Leah's delusional," Seth answered, shooting a glare at his sister.

"If I'm delusional, then you're insane," Leah muttered.

"Weak," Seth smirked. Leah stuck up her middle finger at him, making Seth roll his eyes again.

"Hey, guys! Wanna learn something else about me? Yeah, another thing that I hate - like, absolutely can_not _stand - is lying," Heaven said, standing up with her arms crossed. She stared at her cousin, who stared back with a smirk.

"Got something to say?" Jazmyn asked.

"What aren't you guys telling me? What'd she mean by _Embry's girl_?"

"She means that...Embry likes you," Kim answered with a shrug.

"Sure. Tell her _that_," shot Jazmyn.

"Well it didn't look like _you _were gonna tell her anything!" Kim replied, standing up.

"Ooh, someone's getting mad," smirked Jazmyn, standing up, too. Seth sighed and got to his feet just as Jared did. "Got anything else to say?"

"Jazz, stop," Seth whispered.

"No. Kim's got something to say."

"Give it up, Jazzy."

"...Fine. But only cause you asked me to." Jazmyn shot another look at Kim before sitting back down next to her boyfriend. But then she stood back up. "Wait, let's go, Seth. We can find..._better _things to do than be here." Jazmyn looked at Kim pointedly.

"Good luck leaving. The roads are closed," Leah muttered from her spot on the floor.

"How'd _you _get here then?"

"Ran. Duh. You think a little powder can stop me?" Leah snorted; the first sign of an actual laugh since the miscarriage. Jacob glanced at her, smiling a little.

"Well, maybe they're open now," Jazmyn said. She opened the door and stopped. "IT'S FUCKING _WHITE_! HOLY COW, I CAN'T SEE _SHIT_!"

Heaven turned to look out the window, and realized her cousin was right. Her mouth dropped and she groaned.

"How're we supposed to-"

The lights went out and she screamed before clamping her hands over her mouth to stop more from getting out.

"SHIT!"

"Three bucks, Jazzy."

"Does it _look _like I have any money on me?" Jazmyn spat. She was quiet. "Fine."

"Guys, just stay here, okay? Hopefully, this will let up sometime soon. Sam, help me get some candles."

"Watch your step, Em-"

"Ow!"

"Hey, where's my money?"

"_Here_, Sethy-poo!"

"'Sethy-poo?'" Paul guffawed from his space on the arm chair.

"Don't laugh," Seth groaned.

"Yeah, _why _are you even laughing, Pauly-wally?"

"HA! _Pauly-wally_!" Quil chuckled.

"Quilly-billy, there's no need for _teasing_," Claire whined, swatting at him. That made everyone laugh even harder than they already were.

"This storm better let up quick, because I do _not _want to be spending my Saturday night locked in a house with you idiots," Jacob groaned.

"Man, I hear you," Jared sighed.

"That's cause they'd both rather be fucking their girls," Kaden said.

"Umm, hel_lo_, there's a young _girl _in here!" Embry scolded.

"Umm, hel_lo_, I know what _fuck _means. You don't have to cover up your language," Heaven shot back, irritated.

"Ouch," Leah laughed once.

Jazmyn looked around the dark room, and at Leah, who was still staring at the blank TV screen. She finally stood up and sat next to Jacob, leaning on his shoulder. He held her close.

"So...Since we're gonna be here a while, who wants to tell me what Emo Chick over there was talking about?" Heaven asked.

"...Mmm...Embry should be the one to decide that," Claire said, looking up from her phone. "Ugh, there's no freaking reception! I feel like the people in those horror movies I'm always freaking out over. No reception...Then some maniac pops out of the woods and-"

"RAH!"

"AHHHH!" Claire screamed. She grabbed onto Quil. "Not _funny_, Paul!"

"Was to me," he laughed, as did everyone else in the room. Claire pouted and Quil kissed her cheek with a small chuckle.

"So..._Embry_," Heaven sat down next to him. He looked at her and grinned.

What can he say? She just had that affect on him.

"Yeah?"

"Got something to tell me, big guy?"

"Oh...Umm..." Embry looked away, stammering a little. Heaven leaned forward.

"You can tell me," she said sweetly. Without a second thought, she felt around for his hand and touched it. She wished she could stare into his eyes, but it was too dark to do it. The only light at that moment was from the window, but it was going away quickly.

Embry glanced at everyone, noticing that they were all staring at him or at each other.

"Well...Umm..." he stammered again. Jazmyn groaned.

"Embry and all the other guys can change into wolves. There," she explained, annoyed. "No way am I telling her about the _you-know-what _part so you're on your own, Em." Jazmyn pulled Seth up and walked into the kitchen. "Ow!" She moaned, bumping into the dining room table. "_That's _gonna be a bruise."

Seth picked her up and carried her bridal style into the kitchen, where he sat her on the counter. He opened up the oven, where the brownies were still safely baking...Or...Used to be baking, that is. He took it out and set it on the counter, then hoisted himself on top after getting a knife out of the drawer.

Together, they helped themselves to chocolaty deliciousness.

"I feel kind of bad..." Jazmyn said in between bites. "Keeping all this beautiful food away from everyone."

"Really?"

"...No!"

"That's what I like to hear," Seth chuckled. He got down to go to the refrigerator, where he got out a carton of milk.

"Oh, yes. _Surely_ we shouldn't waste that! It could spoil, you know, since the power is out," Jazmyn said with a nod. "Get two glasses, babe."

"Already have 'em."

"Well this is quite romantic," Jazmyn joked once they were sipping on tall glasses of milk. "Seth, you got a little milk mustache!"

"I do?" Seth looked down, trying to catch a glimpse of his upper lip.

"Right...There!" Jazmyn kissed him and Seth smiled, kissing her back. She was still on the counter and he stood in front of her, allowing her to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Did you get it?" he breathed, pulling away from her for a second.

"I don't think...No, you still got a little there-" She kissed his cheek. "-and...There-" She kissed his jaw. "And...Oh. Almost forgot!" She returned to kissing his lips again, moaning with pleasure.

"I almost forgot about my...Umm..." Emily walked in, holding a flashlight in one hand and a container of scented candles and lighter in the other. She shined the flashlight on the kissing couple, though they weren't phased by this slight interruption. They went right along like she wasn't even there.

"Umm..." she cleared her throat a little bit.

And...They kept going.

Finally she rolled her eyes and flicked her flashlight on and off. Seth saw Emily and his eyes widened. He pulled away from Jazmyn and the both of them stared at her, looking like a couple of deer caught in the headlights.

"Yeah. I have candles...Not that you two needed any. And I forgot about the brown..." She shined her light on the half eaten container of brownies on the counter and the neglected glasses of milk. "...Knees...Okay. I guess I'll just have to break out the crackers. Because you know how much the guys just _love _crackers."

"Sorry, Em," Seth said quietly. He looked down shyly. Jazmyn looked the other way.

"Oh. Don't mind me. I'm just...Setting up some candles. You know. The usual." Emily took the candles out of the package and started to light them while Seth and Jazmyn looked at the ceiling, the ground...Anywhere but at each other or Emily.

When the candles were lit and cast a yellowish glow across the kitchen, Jazmyn picked up the container and held it out to Emily with a sheepish smile. She took it and grinned.

"I'll just tell them that half burnt up, how about that?"

"You're the best, Emily," Seth smiled at her. He held out the carton of milk.

"Got milk?" Jazmyn shrugged with a wide grin. Seth chuckled and Emily giggled.

"How about you two finish that off. It was my last carton, anyway. When the storm lets up, I'll be sure to get some more."

"Yeah. And label one of them 'Seth and Jazmyn.' You know, just so everyone's clear that _that_ one is ours," Seth joked.

"Will do." Emily walked out of the kitchen.

"So...Where were we?" Seth looked at Jazmyn, who smiled. She stretched her arms out for Seth, and he laced his fingers with hers.

"I think I remember..."

000000000000000000000000

The rest of the brownies were gone in a little under ten minutes.

"So...You guys...Expect me to believe...That you can turn into wolves?" Heaven asked, shining a flashlight around at everybody. They looked at each other and Heaven busted out laughing. "Yeah. Right. I love you guys and your crazy stories. Even got my cousin in on 'em, too. Wow...If you didn't want to tell me that bad, why not tell me the truth?"

It was quiet before Leah said, "Ha. You got us. Always...Joking, and whatnot." She tried to laugh as convincingly as she could, making everyone else laugh with her. She shot a look at Embry, knowing that, even in the darker light, he'd be able to see it. _You owe me_, she mouthed. He smiled and nodded, happy that he didn't have to share his secret so soon.

"So...What do you guys usually do when you're locked in a house with no power?" Heaven asked, kicking her legs around.

"Try not to kill each other," Leah answered flatly.

"Sweet!" the younger girl giggled. "But...How's about we tell stories? Like..." She shined the flashlight on her face, trying to look as spooky as possible. "Horrific-bloody-gory-terrifying-ones?!"

"I...Prefer the ones with bunnies and flower fields," Claire squeaked, covering her eyes.

"Aww, is little _Claire _afraid of the dark?" Jazmyn asked, walking back into the living room with Seth.

"No! ...I'm just afraid of what's _in _the dark!"

"Which is nothing!"

"But us," Jared murmured. Kim elbowed him, looking up afterwards as Seth and Jazmyn made their way into the living room. They sat down on the couch; Jazmyn lying across Seth's lap.

"I have one," Leah said, looking at Heaven. The little girl tossed her the flashlight and Leah shined it on her face. She looked around the room before smiling a little. "Seth's face."

"Ooh. Frightening," Kim shuddered.

"Hey! I resent that!" Jazmyn scoffed. "I happen to think that Seth has a very attractive face."

"Yeah, when you're not sucking on it," Heaven muttered. The guys started to laugh.

"Shut up, Heav."

"Whatever."

"Give me the flashlight. I have one. It's called..." Seth took the flashlight and shined it on himself. "_The Day When Leah Ruled the Earth._"

"What are you talking about? That sounds like an _amazing _story! Horror tale my ass," Leah laughed once.

"I don't know, Leah. It _does _sound a little horrifying," Sam said, shuddering for emphasis.

"_I _have one! And that's called _When The Guys Girlfriends all Formed a Rebellion and No One was Given Sex for a Week_," Leah whispered, trying to make herself sound mystifying. "The men stepped out of line, and the ladies just couldn't take it anymore. They locked up their p-"

"LEAH!" Embry yelled, gesturing towards Heaven, who only giggled.

"Now _that_...Would make one hell of a horror story," Jared said to Leah, which made Kim frown at him. That's when the power came back on, making everyone sigh with relief.

Jazmyn and Seth had been making out again and Heaven screamed.

"Unclean! Unclean! Shield your eyes from the blasphemous sucking leeches in front of you!" She screeched, clapping her hands over her eyes.

"Damn, can we get a moment of peace for once?" Jazmyn scowled, pulling away from Seth. She crossed her arms in a pout. Seth chuckled and looked at the ground, crossing his arms as well.

"I'm gonna head out. Thanks for...Letting us chill here, Em," Kaden nodded.

"What? No 'thank you' for me?" Sam looked at him in mock disbelief.

"Oh. Thanks, Sam," Kaden smiled at him, waved at everyone else, and jogged out the door. Jazmyn looked out the window just in time to see him strip down and phase, carrying his clothes into his mouth. She smirked at how, even with his largeness, the snow went up to his calves. It was clear out, and you could see the stars.

Jazmyn looked at the moon - hanging low in the sky. She looked down at her lap, and sighed, thinking about her dream the other night.

_Nat_.

He'd come to her, in her dream, and told her that he was a vampire. And then he had told her that she should go with him to...Wherever it was that he wanted her to go with him to.

She lightly touched where he scars were, grimacing a little when she still felt pain. And then it dawned on her.

It hadn't really been a dream.

Nat had been there. With her. Told her he was a...He was a...

She shot up, her eyes wide.

"Whoa there, Jazz," Seth said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, her mind a mess of thoughts.

_Tell him, stupid! Tell him! He can help you!_

But that was her _brother_. Who knows what Seth and his friends could do to him? What _he _could do to _them_?

"You okay?"

"Oh. Um. Yeah. That was...Um. Yeah. We...Heaven and I should get going now."

"Okay. I can drive you."

"Y-yeah." Jazmyn stood up without another word and put on her coat, Heaven doing the same before putting on her boots.

"Bye, guys! Thanks for an..._Interesting _afternoon," Heaven grinned at everyone.

"Come by anytime," Emily smiled and stood up, hugging the little girl goodbye. Sam stood and shook hands with her, mussing up her hair a little.

"Hey! That takes fifteen minutes in the morning!" Heaven giggled.

"Oh, I'm _so _sorry," Sam smirked. "See you again, kiddo."

"Right! Again..." Heaven glanced at Jazmyn, who wasn't even looking at her. She then turned to Embry, who stood up, too.

"I'll...See you around," he shrugged. "Yeah."

"'Kay. _Yeah_," Heaven giggled and Embry grinned. She hugged him, standing on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck. He looked startled for a second, even looking at Sam as if to ask him for advice. He only rolled his eyes and made a gesture for him to hug her back. Embry did, and Heaven smiled before letting go of him.

"See you guys!" she called before following after her cousin and Seth. She hopped into the back of his truck and looked out the window at the cottage. She smiled when she saw Embry waving at her and waved back until he disappeared when Seth made a left.

She sat back in her seat and smiled at the ceiling.

_Hm. Wolves. Those guys kill me._

Jazmyn was silent the whole entire way to her house, which took a long time due to the speed at which Seth was driving.

_I just don't want to slip on the ice and get into an accident, gosh._

He glanced at his imprint, whose face was twisted up in deep thought. He sighed and pulled up in front of her house.

"Thanks, Seth!" Heaven called, sliding out the back door. She ran through the lawn, leaving small footprints in the snow. "Gramma, I'm home!" She opened the door and ran in.

Seth smiled at her and then looked back at Jazmyn, who was still sitting in the car.

"Jazz-"

"Oh. See you." She leaned in to kiss him but he stopped her.

"Something's wrong with you."

"It's...Nothing."

"Yeah, it is. It's something."

"No, really."

"Jazmyn."

"Seth."

"You're so hardheaded, I swear."

"Aww, thanks. Gramma says I get it from Daddy."

"Nice to know. You're sure you're fine?"

"Yeah. 'Course. Just...A lot on my mind, is all. No big deal, Sethy."

"Care to share? I got...Fifteen minutes."

"...What?"

"Until patrol. That means I have to-"

"No, no. I mean...You actually _care _if I'm okay or not?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"...Oh. You're sweet, Seth."

"I know," Seth shrugged and grinned. Jazmyn laughed and kissed him. "I'll be by later, okay?"

"Okay. Window's open. Love you."

"Love you, too."

000000000000000000000000

"Jazz-"

Jazmyn moaned with pleasure, kissing Seth again to shut him up. He pushed her away gently.

"Jazz."

"Mm?"

"What's with you tonight?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're..."

"Problem?"

Seth thought about it and looked at Jazmyn's half naked body.

_No._

"Ah-"

"C'mere." She leaned forward and kissed him again. After a few seconds, Seth started kissing her back. He was careful of her scars, as they were still hurting her. Even so, she moved so that she was top of him, placing kisses on his chest and all the way up to his neck.

He felt her hot, minty breath on his cheek as she breathed, "Love me," softly into his ear. He rolled his head to his left, where she had her head on his shoulder. Her ice blue eyes stared into his brown ones with lust and love and he felt himself melt. He was almost powerless against her.

Seth kissed her once and pulled away slowly. He opened his eyes halfway and then kissed her again, more feverishly this time. Suddenly he was on top of her, kissing her with such fervor that it left her in a slight daze.

He pulled the blanket up to cover them, and returned to kissing her. He placed feathery light kisses up and down her body, and she wrapped arms around his neck, closing her eyes and gripping him tight.

Seth looked into his imprint's eyes once again, just as she opened them to reveal the beautiful pool of blue beneath her long lashes. He kissed her again and laid down, pulling her into his side. He could feel her stitches against his bare skin and thought back to when Paul had hurt her.

He hadn't realized he was shaking until Jazmyn put her hand on his chest.

"You're okay," she whispered, kissing his cheek. He smiled at her and kissed her lips again. She pulled away and laid on his chest.

"You were beautiful," he complimented.

"Yeah? You weren't so bad yourself, Hotshot." She started to drift off, and nuzzled deeper into her boyfriend's side, gripping the blanket with her hands. She loved how warm he was; and how she never felt cold when he was around.

With a yawn, she placed one more kiss on his chest.

"I love you...Seth Clearwater," whispered Jazmyn. She smiled and closed her eyes, quickly drifting off to the sweet sound of his heartbeat.


	10. Chapter 10

**TENTH CHAPTER! Milestone Number One, guys! WOOHOO!**

**Ha-ha, anyway, thanks for the reviews on the last chapter, I'm glad that you guys like it! I'm really starting to get into this story, guys. Like...I can't even explain it! **Actually, I'm Not Really Sure Yet **is starting to become something that I think about in my spare time; like what I should do next and how I can make the story juicier and stuff...**

**Unfortunately, this chapter's kind of short...But, good. A lot of Seth and Jazmyn in it. Well, like always...But-**

**Whatever! You don't want to listen to my rambling all day! So enjoy Chapter 10!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Ten

Seth frowned, looking up at his ceiling in deep thought. He hadn't had a panic attack in almost three weeks, and, truthfully, it was starting to worry him.

What if a...Huge one just decided to bombard him out of the blue?

The thought took over and he thought he felt one coming on until he realized that it was all just in his head. He felt fine; _great _even. Ever since he spent the night at Jazmyn's house after their day at Sam and Emily's, he's felt...Alive, almost. As if something had come and swept all of his sadness and guilt away.

He barely thought about his dad anymore, or the fact that Leah slowly seemed to be dying. Not _literally_, but...

She wasn't the same as she used to be. She barely talked, and when she did, it was in short, sarcastic sentences. She seemed thinner and her eyes lost the sense of life and excitement that they used to hold; the brown seemed almost black now.

But Seth didn't care. He could care less about being sad and pitiful now. He had Jazmyn. Having her was anything and everything that he could ever need.

"Hey, you." Seth shot up and grinned, watching as Jazmyn walked into his room. She smiled at him and bounced onto his bed, falling on top of his chest. She pecked his lips.

"What's up?"

"I was bored, and decided to come over. I got my stitches out today!" She sat up again and pulled up her sweater. "See? The scars look _cool_."

"It looks like it hurts."

"Not really. Just a little tender. Carlisle says that they're healing up _just_ nicely."

"So...You're on a first name basis with the doc now?"

"Well, he told me to call him that, so that's what I'm gonna call him. Problem?"

"Nah. It's just..." Seth looked at the ceiling. "It's _weird _calling the doctor by his first name," he smirked.

"Oh. Hm. Oh, well." She sighed and stood on top of the bed to stretch. "I swear, I've gained, like, five pounds since I've been going to Emily's every day. Does her food have, like, something in it that causes people to gain weight? Cause I've never felt fat before when I eat food."

"It's in your head, Jazz. You look fine," Seth smiled.

"You're _supposed _to say that. You're my boyfriend."

"And proud of it."

"Aww...!" She plopped back down and crawled into his open arms. She laid there contentedly before sighing. "I'm hungry. Pizza? Please?"

"We have none."

"Then let's stop by Domino's. I feel like...Meat Lover's today."

"_Every _day's a Meat Lover's day."

"Wait, wait, wait...I wanna go to Sue's. That pie she makes is the shit!"

"One."

"Ugh."

"You never learn."

"How come _you _always get to cuss?"

"I don't do it every second of the day."

"Uhuh, sure. I bet at night when everyone's asleep, you wake up and whisper every cuss word known to man."

"Oh, no! You found out my secret! The world's gonna end now!" Seth groaned and grabbed his cell phone off the charger in the kitchen. He laughed and handed Jazmyn her coat. She giggled and slid it on. Seth laced his fingers into hers and led her out the door where they started down the sidewalk towards his mother's diner. It was close to their house, so the stroll was short.

Seth and Jazmyn joked and laughed all the way there, inside their own little bubble of happiness and joy.

"You gotta catch me first!" Jazmyn giggled, holding the dollar away from Seth. She started to run but squealed when Seth caught her around the waist. She laughed loudly as he swung her around to face him. "You can't get it!" she laughed, holding the dollar up. He laced his fingers through her left hand and then reached for the other one with the dollar. She held it away and he tickled under her chin, making her squeal and laugh. Seth used the moment to lace his fingers through her other hand.

"Now we both have it," he chuckled.

"No! Most of the dollar is in _my _hand, so therefore _I _have it!"

"Whatever, Jazz!" Seth laughed. She stuck her tongue out at playfully and then kissed him. Jazmyn let go of his hands to wrap her arms around his neck, and the dollar fell. It landed at their feet but they ignored it and it blew away.

"You just lost your dollar," Jazmyn breathed with a small smile.

"I don't care. I didn't need it, anyway."

"Hm," she laughed. "Come on, I'm still hungry."

When they arrived at the diner, the Pack - Paul, Embry, Quil, and Claire - looked up and grinned. Jazmyn waved.

"Seth's Mom! Seth and Jazmyn are here!" she called.

"Jazmyn, what have I told you? Call me Sue, sweetie!"

"Okay. _Sue_," Jazmyn smirked and sat down at the Pack's table. "I want a piece of that pie that you always make! The apple one!"

"Coming right up! Anything for you, honey?" she asked Seth.

"Same."

"Two apple pies. Alright!" Sue disappeared into the kitchen. Jazmyn slid off her coat and looked up, noticing that everyone - the guys - were staring at her.

"What?"

"You...Look different," Paul cocked his head.

"And...You smell different, too," Embry noted.

"Is that a good thing...?" Jazmyn asked slowly, raising her eyebrows.

"Yeah, I guess. I mean, it's not a bad smell. Just..._different_. I don't know what it is, though," Quil answered. Jazmyn shrugged and pecked Seth's cheek.

"I gotta pee," she told him.

"Nice to know," he smiled at her and watched as she stood up and walked to the far end of the diner and into the bathroom doors. He turned back to his brothers and raised an eyebrow.

"What was that about? She 'smells different'?"

"She just...Does," Paul shrugged. "And she looks different, too. Fuller around her hips, or something."

"You...check out...My _girlfriend_?"

"No! Nothing like that, Kid. I mean-"

"Paul, just stop talking now," Claire shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," he sighed and sat back in his chair.

"Paul's just grumpy cause he can't see _Rachel_," Embry laughed.

"Rachel's back?" Seth looked up with a small smile. "I love Rachel!"

"Excuse me?" Jazmyn asked, sitting down.

"Like a _sister_, Madame Obsessive," Seth rolled his eyes, his smile getting a little bigger. "She's Jake's older sis."

"Oh. Okay. Then I love her, too!" Jazmyn laughed.

"I doubt it. It takes you _forever _to warm up to people," Claire snorted.

"Hint-hint - _Kim_," Embry smirked.

"She still doesn't like her," said Paul.

"Kim's...Kim. And I don't like her. Plain and simple," Jazmyn crossed her arms and nodded, just as Sue set down plates of pie in front of her. "Whoa! Two?"

"Nope! That's mine," Seth grinned at her.

"Aww...Oh, well." She took a bite. "_Yummy_! You're mom cooks _amazing_! Hey, when we get married, do you think that she'll pass down the recipe to me? I mean, we'll be related and all. By marriage, but still."

"Married?"

"Sure. Why not? _It's a beautiful night! We're looking for something dumb to do..._" Jazmyn sang.

"Ahh, a little too young for that, aren't we?" Sue quirked a brow with a small smirk.

"_Hey, baby! I think I wanna marry you!_" Jazmyn continued. She giggled and ate another bite of pie. "Actually...I wanna marry this _pie_!" She laughed again. "_Is it the cream on the crust? Or is it the apple filling_...?!"

"Thanks. I'll try to hide my hurt on the other side of the table," Seth sighed.

"Aww...I'm sorry!" Jazmyn kissed his cheek. "That was just a thirty second fling, anyway. You're the only man I need! C'mere!" She kissed him.

"Hey, there's, like, people eating here, you know," Paul rolled his eyes and then looked at the door. His smile instantly widened. "Rachel!"

"Hi, guys! Seth!"

"Rach!" Seth pulled away and grinned at her. He looked at Paul and his mouth dropped when he studied his love-and-adoration-filled face. "Paul imprinted on you?!"

"Umm, what?" Rachel's face twisted into confusion as she sat down.

"Icks-neigh on the Rachel-_imprinting_-kay," Embry said through gritted teeth.

"Dude, your Pig Latin sucks," Jazmyn cringed. She took three more bites of pie.

"Umm..." Rachel pulled up a chair. "Well...It's great to be back...!" she laughed nervously, still confused.

"Oh, yeah. How long are you here?" Seth asked, wrapping an arm around Jazmyn.

"I'm taking a little break from school for a while. I thought it'd be nice to get back to family," Rachel smiled. Paul grinned wider. "I got a job at the daycare, so I guess I'll be here for a long while then."

Paul's heart fluttered at the thought of Rachel staying in La Push for good. He sat up straighter and leaned forward to try and get a glimpse of her beautiful hazel eyes. She blushed, feeling his eyes on her. After finally looking at him, Paul grinned at her. She blushed a deeper shade of red.

"Y-y-yeah. Umm, the kids at the school are great. They don't pull on my hair as much as I thought they were going to," Rachel finally choked out. Jazmyn laughed at her, deciding that Rachel was okay.

_Step up from Kim. Easy beat...But...Nice, I guess._

Rachel looked at Seth's arm wrapped loosely around Jazmyn's body and smiled.

"So how long has _this _been going on?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Seth knitted his brows together just as Jazmyn kissed his cheek and stood up.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I gotta pee."

"Good to know," Embry chuckled. Jazmyn giggled and sashayed to the bathroom. Seth smiled after her and turned back to face everyone, quirking his brow when he realized they were all staring at him. He took a bite of pie.

"What?"

"How are you, Seth?" Rachel asked, leaning her chin in the palm of her hand. Seth shrugged with a small smile.

"Okay, I guess," he answered. Rachel looked deep into his eyes.

"How are you?" she asked again, slower this time. Seth paused, his fork hovering a few inches above his plate. He knew what she was talking about. He looked down and set his fork back onto the plate, suddenly not as hungry as he was before. Leaning back in the chair, he crossed his arms over his chest and turned to look out the window, his jaw tightening.

"Fine," he finally said. And left it at that. Rachel, however, didn't.

"You don't look 'fine,'" she said, cocking her head. Seth clenched his fists. "Sethy, if there's-"

"Rach, stop," Embry whispered.

"No, I'm not. Seth, for real. If there's anything that I can do, you can-"

"Will everyone just shut up about Dad for once? I can't take it!" Seth growled, making Rachel jump. "I don't want to hear anymore about 'talking about it' or 'if there's anything I can do' because there's _nothing_ you can do, got it? Tragic loss, he croaked, I lived, who _cares_?" Seth's eyes started to get glossy and he stood up facing away from the table. "I don't..._Care _about the old man, got it? So quit...Fucking bringing it up. It's not good for me right now." He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a shaky breath. "Tell Jazz I'll talk to her later. I'm going for a run."

0000000000000000000000000

Jazmyn closed the bathroom door and locked it behind her, leaning on the frame for a few seconds. After taking a deep breath, she set the box she was holding down on the counter. Not bothering to read the directions, she opened the toilet seat lid and sat down before ripping it open.

_Just pee on it and wait, Jazz._

When she was done, she set the stick on the counter carefully and flushed before washing her hands. She caught her reflection in the mirror and stared at it while wiping her hands on a towel. Turning to the side, she lifted up her shirt and examined her stomach, where a teeny-tiny but defined bump rested. She pressed on it lightly, wincing a little when she felt one of her scars.

_Yeah. Still a little tender._

She put her shirt back down and pursed her lips, fidgeting around with her hands a little and pacing the bathroom floor.

_How long does the damn thing expect me to wait? Five thousand years?!_

Finally taking a seat on the toilet, she took a deep breath to settle her nerves.

_You're just getting fat, Jazz. You need to lay off Em's muffins, no big deal. No big...Deal. And barfing is a common thing, right? People do it when they're sick._

She looked up with knitted eyebrows. People couldn't be sick _every day_, right?

_Shut up. Hell yeah, they can. _

But it didn't explain her missed period.

Nothing could explain that.

_Okay, Jazz. You've been waiting for, like, twenty minutes. Check it. Check it _now_._

Jazmyn squeezed her eyes shut, counting down from three in her head.

_Three...Two...Two and a half-_

Bitch, just do it now.

_One._

She grabbed the stick off the counter and pried her eyes open to read the results. Her heart dropped.

_Ob_viously, it was broken considering the two pink lines that showed up on the white screen.

_Girl, you know good and well that it's not broken. _

Looking up from the pregnancy test in her fingers, she suddenly felt nauseous. 

_ Well, Jazmyn Anderson. You are now knocked up! _

But the worst part was - and this brought sudden tears to Jazmyn's eyes - she didn't know who's it was.

**REVIEW.**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	11. Chapter 11

**I absolutely have no clue what I was thinking when I wrote the last chapter, but...I'm just gonna roll with it instead of quitting on the story, because I could never do that to you guys!**

**Although, it did seem like Jazz was peeing a **_**lot**_**...**

**Hmm...**

**Anyway, enjoy this one! And please, please, PLEASE remember to hit that VERY SEXY review button!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Eleven

Jazmyn was crying even before she reached the school that morning. Seth had texted her that he'd be at her house to pick her up, but she'd insisted on walking to clear her mind.

Or at least to try and make sense of the thick jungle that _used _to be her mind.

All she could think about was the little white stick that she held in her hands the previous afternoon. The two little pink lines had jumped out at her like...Like that time Heaven had scared the shit out of her jumping out of her closet one time. It hadn't just _told _her that she was pregnant, it had fucking _screamed _it at her like one of those hard-metal rock songs.

_FUCKING CONGRATULATIONS AAAAHHHHHHHH! YOU'RE KNOCKED UP! HOW'S IT FEEL, HM? FUCKING AAAAAGGGGHHHHH! _

What would she tell Seth? _Would _she tell Seth? What would the Pack think? Claire? ...Kim?

_And Gramma and Heaven. Fuck, they're gonna be so pissed at me._

Wait...Should she even tell Seth? It...The baby might not even be his, anyway.

And to Jazmyn, that was the worst thought of all.

In the past twenty-four hours she had peed sixteen times, vomited seven, and cried six. She couldn't remember feeling this terrible in her whole entire life.

_Except when you were seven, and Nat-_

She stopped herself there, not wanting to think about her vampire-brother. After all this stuff has been happening to her, she hadn't had time to think about what he had said to her that night when she talked to him in her backyard. And frankly, she really didn't want to.

"Jazz?"

The young girl jumped, her hands automatically going up into fists as her first mode of self-defense. She froze when she saw Seth and the front of La Push High School.

"O-oh. Sorry. You scared-"

"Are you crying?"

"No!" Jazmyn wiped her eyes roughly. "The wind just made my eyes water, is all."

"You've been crying. There's no wind today."

"Well...I wasn't!" Jazmyn snapped. She pushed past him and marched up to the front stairs of the school, leaving behind a slightly confused boyfriend.

"Jazzy, wait!" he called, jogging after her. "What's wrong? I hate seeing you cry. You know I do," his voice softened into a whisper and Jazmyn froze, one foot on the third stair and another on the second. Her bottom lip quivered and she covered her eyes to try and hide her tears from Seth.

"Hey...Hey, hey, hey...Don't-"

"We screwed up, Seth. We screwed up bad," she cried, not turning to face him.

_Okay, go with this story. Alright..._

"What are you talking about?" Seth asked. When Jazmyn didn't answer he reached for her shoulder. "Jazz, you're starting to freak me out here."

_Come out and say it, Jazmyn. Forget about the other stuff. Just...Say it. _

With a sniff, Jazmyn turned around and looked into Seth's eyes.

"I'm pregnant," she said as confidently as she could. She folded her arms over her chest and bit her lip, searching his face for any sign of emotion.

Frozen.

Like leftover meatloaf.

"Babe...?"

Seth felt his heart drop to his knees at the sudden news.

_We screwed up, Seth. We screwed up bad..._

Hell yeah, they did.

_I'm pregnant._

PREGNANT?!

"You're not..." he searched her face for any sign that what she said was a joke.

"It's...What the stick said."

"When'd you find out?" he asked. He felt like breaking down and crying, but held it together for her. "Was it recently? How long have you known?"

"I f-found out yesterday," Jazmyn started to cry again. "Are you mad at m-me?"

"What? Jazz..." Seth sighed and wrapped her up in a hug. "If anything, I'm mad at myself."

"Why?"

"Because...I...Did something that I shouldn't have done. It's my fault. _I'm _the one that screwed up," he said. But it sounded so foreign; like he wasn't the one saying it. The one talking was the...Logical Seth. The Caring and Forgiving Seth.

What he really wanted to be at the moment was Raging and In Denial Seth. But he forced that part of him to stay down.

He kissed the top of her head and they were quiet. Seth heard the heartbeat coming from Jazmyn's stomach and he squeezed his eyes shut, planting another lingering kiss on the top of her head.

"We'll...We'll get through it, Jazz. The two of us, okay?" He held her at arm's length away from him and smiled with a small laugh. "The Two Musketeers, remember?" He hugged her again and kissed her head another time.

Jazmyn squeezed her eyes shut at his comment. She let more tears fall and finally wrapped her arms around his torso.

_Yeah. The two of us. Together._

But a part of her couldn't help but to feel guilty.

000000000000000000000000

Jazmyn and Seth kept the whole thing quiet for weeks, not even bringing it up themselves. When Jazmyn rushed off to vomit, Seth followed her and held her hair back, whispering to her to try and be quiet so the others wouldn't hear if they were at Sam and Emily's house.

They tried their best to act normally around everyone else, too. And, actually, it was working. The two smirked when Heaven was grossed out by their kissing, and scowled when one of the guys told them to 'get a room' or 'cut it out'.

"Seth! Take selfies with me!" Jazmyn had exclaimed one day, holding up the new Canon she had gotten in the mail from her parents.

Seth grinned as Jazmyn set up the camera to take multiple shots of them. She hopped on his back and made a funny face in the first one, and then stood in front of him to show off her 'biceps.'

Nineteen pictures later, Jazmyn picked up the camera and clicked through the photos, smiling at all of them.

"We should really think about going into modeling," Seth complimented with a smirk.

"Yeah, we..." Jazmyn's eyes widened and the grin on her face faded. "Shit. Look." She showed Seth one of the pictures, where she had attempted to show her stomach to show off her 'six pack'. Seth was showing his off cockily.

Jazmyn thrust the Canon into his arms and ran into the bathroom. She turned to the side and lifted up her shirt, her mouth dropping.

"Wow..." she breathed. She ran a hand over her stomach, where the small bump had gotten much bigger. No one would have been able to notice, but with her shirt pulled up, it was _very _noticeable.

Seth stared at it, his eyes wide. He felt a strange mixture of fear and pride...It was...It was hard thing to explain. He returned his attention back at the picture and pressed delete.

The next day, Jazmyn sat down at her desk and listened - bored, as usual - as her biology teacher droned on and on about...Well frankly, she didn't know or want to know what the hell Bitchface was talking about at the moment.

She felt a strong wave of nausea wash over her and her hand shot up immediately.

"Bitchf- Ms. Hambrick?" she asked.

"What is it now, Miss Anderson?" the teacher sighed, not turning around from the board.

"Can I go to the restroom, please?" Jazmyn asked as politely as she could through gritted teeth. She could feel it coming up.

"I guess. But you're missing a very-"

Jazmyn rushed out the door, not bothering to listen to the rest of what the teacher had to say. She made it to the toilet just in time...To not puke at all. She mentally groaned as she dry-heaved over the toilet.

She stood up and leaned over, trying to get herself to puke. Last time she didn't do this, she ended up barfing all over Seth's floor.

Thank the heavens for hardwood.

And let me tell you, it wasn't as satisfying seeing her lunch the second time as it was the first.

_Hell yeah, it wasn't._

She squeezed her eyes shut and stuck her finger down her throat, trying to get some up.

"Jazmyn Anderson?"

Her eyes shot open at the sound of her name and she coughed again before standing all the way up. Slowly, she turned around to face the school guidance counselor, Ms. Sanders.

The next thing she knew, she was in the counselor's office, seated directly across from her. Ms. Sanders slapped down a pamphlet - _Eating Disorders _- in front of her. Jazmyn looked at her.

"No, no...You have it-"

The teacher silenced her by putting another pamphlet in front of her - _So You Like To Puke_.

Jazmyn snorted and then composed herself by coughing.

"Look, Kerry-"

"Ms. Sanders."

"Yeah. Okay. Kerry, I don't have an eating disorder. You have it all wrong," Jazmyn grinned at her. "I was just-"

"I've sent an e-mail to your caretaker to talk about to you about this."

"You _what_?"

"Jazmyn, eating disorders are nothing to fool around about. You need serious help. And because we love you, we're going to try and-"

"Please. The only thing that you're trying to do is keep a steady paycheck and your job," Jazmyn snapped. She stood up and yanked the door open. "Have a nice day,_ Kerry_."

Three hours later, Jazmyn opened the door to her house.

"I'm home-" She stopped. "Elliot."

"How many times have I told you? Call me _Dad_."

"Well, you know, _Dads _don't send their daughters to fucking waste the rest of their pitiful lives in a place that never sees the sun, now do they?"

"Language."

"Yeah. You have no power over me anymore," Jazmyn spat. She pointed to Miss Pocket. "_She _does."

"I got an e-mail from your guidance counselor today. You're bulimic?" Miss Pocket whispered. Jazmyn looked at the ceiling and groaned.

"_Bitch_."

"_Language_."

"I don't fucking give a fuck!" Jazmyn screamed to her father's face. She felt tears brimming at the end of her eyes, but she willed them to stay back. Elliot's nostril's flared which made her smirk in satisfaction.

_He's angry. Hell yeah, now it's a party._

Ignoring their yelling, Miss Pocket talked on and on.

"What is wrong with you, honey? Do you want to talk about it? I don't want you doing this to yourself!" she started to cry a little bit, which made Jazmyn soften.

Yeah. Not much.

"It's nothing, Gramma-"

"Well it _has _to be something! If you're making yourself-"

"Stay _out _of this, Elliot!"

"I am your father and you will acknowledge me as such!"

"Well I wish you _weren't _my dad!"

"You will take that back, you hear? Take it back right-"

"SHUT UP!" Jazmyn screeched. "You wanna know the truth? You want to? I'm pregnant. There." Jazmyn lifted up her hoodie to show off the bump. "Go ahead and shit talk me. I can take it. Go _ahead_!" She yanked her jacket back down.

It was quiet.

Heaven froze at the back patio door, seeing her grandmother close to tears and her uncle looking like he had just lost a major client and then had been told that he was fired. She silently closed the sliding door behind her and, as quietly as she could, she disappeared up to her room.

"You're...what?" Miss Pocket finally choked out.

"Pregnant. Knocked up. With child. Whatever the hell you wanna call it...That's what I am."

"Is it the Clearwater boy's?"

"Yeah."

"And he knows?"

"Y-"

"You're coming back home. Tomorrow morning. We're taking the next flight out."

"WHAT?!" Jazmyn whipped her head to her father's.

"Why are you objecting? Isn't this what you wanted? To come back home?" Elliot quirked a brow.

"Yeah, but-"

"Then you should have no problems. Go upstairs and pack. I need to talk to your grandmother."

"But I...I'm not going! And you can't make me!" Jazmyn stamped her foot and crossed her arms, making Elliot roll his eyes.

"You have no say in this, young lady. You're going back to Manhattan, and that's final."

"But Seth-"

"Upstairs."

"We had so many-"

"Upstairs."

"_Elliot_-"

"Dammit, Jazz!"

The next thing she knew, her dad had grabbed a hold of her arm and yanked her roughly, pushing her towards the stairs.

"Upstairs. Pack. _Now_."

Her mouth hung slack and, almost robotically, she picked herself off the staircase and hurried up to her room, trying to hide her tears.

"And one more thing, young lady. I'm _Dad_. _Father_. You will not use my first name ever again, you hear?"

"Yes sir," Jazmyn muttered, and clambered up the rest of the stairs. She was crying the whole time, and threw herself on top of her bed, crying into her pillows. She tried her best to block out her father's yelling at her grandmother, but it was hard to do, considering how loud his booming voice was.

_"I sent her here for a better life. To escape that damned city. Get her life straight. Now I come here, what? Three months later and she's _pregnant_! _Pregnant_, Naomi!" _

Jazmyn screamed into her pillow, beating it with her fists.

_That's _Mom_, to you, _Elliot_, _she thought bitterly.

_"What do you Anna-Maria will say about this? She'll be heartbroken! What should I say to Marc the next time he calls about his daughter? That she lives with a woman who let one of her own grandchildren get pregnant and only ask if the father knows? You're unfit to even take care of _anyone_! You're...We're leaving. She's not staying here any longer." _

Jazmyn sniffed and sat up, hearing someone tap on her window. She ran to it and thrust it open.

"Why're you crying?" Seth asked, his face full of worried.

"My dad's here. I told him. He's...He's making me go back to New York with him."

"What?"

"We're leaving tomorrow. And I can't do anything about it. I can't fucking _do anything_!" Jazmyn started crying all over again, going back to her bed and sitting down. Seth sat next to her.

"Then let's run away. Me and you, Jazzy. Somewhere where no one'll find us," he said desperately, wrapping his arms around her.

Jazmyn sniffed and smiled a bit at the thought of her and Seth wandering the world together, making their own little family. Creating their own rules. Growing old together under a box somewhere.

It sounded _very _tempting.

"I'd love that," she laughed a bit.

"Then let's do it."

"As much as I want to, sweetie...My dad..." Jazmyn felt her eyes well up again and flinched at his yelling downstairs.

_"She's coming with me, and that's final! I don't give a damn about what you _feel_, Naomi-"_

"Mom," Jazmyn muttered.

_"-Jazmyn Christina Stefani Anderson!" _

"He doesn't even know how to say my full name," Jazmyn sighed. "He switched the two in the middle. Some dad _he _is." She pulled Seth off the bed. "You have to go."

"But I-"

"Jazmyn...!" Elliot was getting closer.

"_Go_! I love you," Jazmyn started to cry again. Seth looked hurt, but he jumped out of the window just as the door banged open. Elliot rushed around the room, opening drawers and throwing clothes onto the bed. He took out all of the clothes from the closet as Jazmyn watched, her arms wrapped around her midsection.

"Get a suitcase. You heard me. Get a damn suitcase!"

Obeying, Jazmyn reached under the bed for her purple suitcases and hoisted them onto the bed. Elliot threw all of her clothes into them and zipped them up.

"I'm coming to get you at nine sharp. You got it? We need to drive into Seattle."

"Mhm."

"You know I'm only doing this because I love you."

"Mhm." Jazmyn looked down. There was an awkward moment of silence, until Elliot finally left. Jazmyn listened for the screech of his rental car tires before she fell onto the bed and broke down. Seth was next to her in a second, his arms wrapped around her in a protective manner.

"You're...Really leaving," he said quietly. Jazmyn nodded into his chest. Seth felt his heart rip in two, and he squeezed Jazmyn tighter, afraid she'd be ripped away from him at that very second.

"Y-you need to go. I can't stand goodbyes," Jazmyn wrenched herself free from his grasp. He tried not to show his hurt.

"But, Jazz-"

"Just go. Please," she turned away from him, a hand pressed over her mouth. He stood up and walked slowly towards the window, his head down. He opened it and sighed before he heard his name being called.

"_Sethy_!" Jazmyn cried. He turned just in time for her to fall into his arms. The two cried together. "I'm gonna miss you. So much, sweetie." He kissed the top of her head multiple times.

"Me too, baby. I don't know...How I'm even gonna...Function without you here."

"Same here."

It was quiet as they held each other, only the sound of the rain to fill the silence. Jazmyn looked up at Seth just as he looked down at her. He crashed his lips to his and kissed her like they'd never be able to kiss again.

And as far as they knew, they probably wouldn't.

Jazmyn gently pushed him off and laid her head on his chest, breathing in his piney-Axey scent. With one final, feathery light kiss to the top of her head, Seth hopped out of her window. Jazmyn leaned over to watch him run into the forest. He didn't even look back at her.

He burst out of his clothes and sprinted into the forest.

00000000000000000000000000

Seth wanted to rip and tear everything to shreds.

He need to rip something. Punch something. Anything to get rid of his sadness and anger.

_"Kid, what's up?" _Jacob thought. Seth's mind was a mess of thoughts, leaving Jacob confused and disoriented. _"Whoa-"_

Seth ran into Jacob and skidded to a stop, digging up mud and weeds and more dirt. He growled at his brother and lunged at him.

_"Kid! Stop! Seth!" _

Seth scratched Jacob's muzzle, making him howl in pain. He recovered quickly and pinned him down, one of his paws pressed hard onto the younger wolf's throat.

_"_Think _about what you're doing," _Jacob thought, baring his teeth. Seth was breathing heavily, but then it slowed. His eyes widened and quickly wriggled himself free. He sat a few feet away from Jacob, hunched over so as not to show that his eyes had glossed over a bit.

_"Sorry. I...I don't know what happened. Sorry." _

_ "Is something wrong? Something between you and Jazz?" _

_ "...I...May or may not have gotten her pregnant-"_

_ "_What_?!"_

_ "I said _may _have!" _Seeing the look on Jacob's face, Seth sighed. _"Okay I did. And her dad found out and now...She's leaving tomorrow." _

_ "Wow, man. I don't know what to say..."_

_ "Of course you don't." _

_ "Kid-"_

_ "I'm leaving. I promise I'll try not to kill anyone on my way home."_

0000000000000000000000000

Jazmyn sighed, looking sadly out the window as the rain fell hard onto it. She waved slightly at her grandmother and Heaven, who were crying silently on the front porch. She looked down and bit her lip before looking back out the window again.

They drove past Embry's house...And the Paul's.

She smiled.

_Damn, I'm gonna miss those guys_.

And then they drove past Seth's house. Her heart sped up and she pressed a hand to the window. He was standing on the porch, his keys in his hands. Undoubtedly, he was taking his truck to school. He met her eyes and lifted his hand to wave. It just kind of hung there limply, not moving.

When they were past his house, she turned around to see him again.

But he was gone.

**Sad face...Review.**


	12. Chapter 12

**I'm hoping that I didn't keep you guys waiting too long! I'm so grateful for all the reviews and story follows/favorites that I've gotten. You people are unbelievably amazing! MWAH! I love you!**

**So...This chapter is going to skip a little...Because I'm a little too lazy to write about, like, EVERYTHING. And also...You might hate me a little afterwards...**

**Oh, well. *Sigh***

**Enjoy! And don't forget to review afterwards!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Twelve

Seth stared at his ceiling glumly, counting how many the glow-in-the-dark star stickers he had put up there when he was five.

Forty-two.

Same as yesterday. And the day before that...And the day before that...

It was kind of depressing, really.

He ignored his bedroom door creaking open, and his mother desperately trying to talk to him.

"Dinner's ready, honey. I made lasagna...And garlic bread...Seth, sweetie, you haven't eaten in _ages_! Please eat, kiddo. For me. I don't want you to starve to death!" she sighed. "What kind of mother would that make me?"

Which had been her attempt at a joke. But it failed. Miserably.

Sue stood there for a few seconds before sighing and leaving, closing the door behind her.

A few hours later, his door opened again.

_Seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty-_

"Seth."

_Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-_

"Patrol. Sam's orders."

_Twenty...Twenty...Damn. Lost count._

"Hm?" he mumbled.

"Patrol. Come on. Sam wants to make it a 'Pack Bonding.' Up, up. Let's go."

"Now?"

"Now."

"I'll be out in a minute."

Leah rolled her eyes and dragged him off his bed.

"Come..._on_!" she grunted.

"Leah..." Seth whined. "No, no, no, no-"

"Yes, yes, yes, yes-"

"FINE! I'm up! Let's go before I change my mind," he growled. Leah smirked and bounded down the stairs, Seth behind her. He glanced at the phone before sighing and following his sister out the door.

_"Let's race!" _Embry barked happily once everyone was together.

_ "Why? I mean, you know Leah's gonna win, anyway," _Jacob rolled his eyes.

_"No she won't."_

_ "Wanna bet?" _Leah quirked a brow.

_"You're on," _Embry smiled slyly.

_"Okay. Go!" _

_ "No fair! You had a head start!" _Embry chased after her, Paul and everyone else following closely behind. Sam stayed behind, walking next to Seth, who was strangely quiet.

_"How are you?" _Sam asked. Seth shrugged. _"School okay?" _Seth shrugged. _"You sleeping alright?" _

_ "Shut up and quit asking me questions, got it?" _the younger wolf growled.

_"Fine, fine. I'm sorry. It's just...We're worried about you, is all." _

_ "When are you not?" _

_ "Touché." _

_ "Ha! I win!" _Leah barked a laugh, trotting circles around the guys. Jacob smiled at her happiness.

_"Rematch," _he thought.

_"She'll just win again. Give it up, Jake," _Embry thought glumly. Leah shot Jacob a wolfish smirk, which caused him to lunge for her. They wrestled around playfully, Jacob pinning Leah on her back easily. They stared into each other's eyes for a second before Leah licked his cheek. Jacob nuzzled her neck.

_"Guys, really? As if my mind wasn't tainted enough," _Seth thought, annoyed. That's when Leah kicked her imprint off of her and sat up.

_"Please, you are _not _that innocent."_

Everyone lounged around between a group of trees, just sitting and hanging around. Sam laid on his belly, his head rested on his paws.

_"Whatever," _Seth thought back, sitting on his haunches.

_"Sure he's innocent. I mean, he's a little pup. I couldn't picture him...You know," _Paul looked up. Seth looked up there, too, starting to count the leaves.

_"Six, seven-"_

_ "What the fuck are you doing?" _

_ "Counting. Duh." _

_ "This conversation isn't over," _Leah said.

_"...Nine, ten, eleven-"_

_ "He's avoiding it," _Embry sat up. _"That means-"_

_ "YOU'VE HAD SEX?!" _Leah thought loudly, jumping up from her sitting position.

_"WHOA!" _Paul laughed, along with the other guys.

_"When'd it happen? Was it with Jazz? Was it good?" _Quil asked. Seth built up a wall to keep his thoughts blocked. _"Yoo-hoo! Seth...!" _

_ "Of _course_ it was with Jazmyn. Who else would it be with?" _Leah thought. _"Wow, I cannot believe my baby brother..." _

_ "Can't believe your 'baby brother' what?" _Seth let his walls down to ask her the question.

_"I can't believe you're not a _virgin_. That's...That's unexpectedly amazing," _Leah answered.

_"What'd you think I was doing when you were gone? Sleeping?" _

_ "Ooh...So...She good in bed?" _Paul waggled his hairy brows. Seth built up his walls again. No one but Jacob knew about Jazmyn's pregnancy. As far as they knew, she was forced to leave because her father 'was a sick bastard that got a kick out of seeing other people suffer,' as Seth had explained to them angrily a few days ago.

_"Paul, you're such a perve,"_ Leah sighed, laying back down. Seth's thoughts went to the first time he'd done 'it' with Jazmyn, and his walls slipped, making his brothers go wild.

_"Holy shit! Put that away!" _Leah covered her eyes with her hands.

_"Fuck," _Seth cursed. _"You were not supposed to see that."_

_ "Well we did!" _

_ "Guys, calm down," _Sam rolled his eyes.

_"Yeah, guys. Calm down," _Seth rolled his eyes, too.

_"So...Why'd Jazz leave again? Was it because her dad found out she was fucking with a werewolf?" _Paul asked.

_"Paul..." _Jacob warned.

_"I'm just asking, jeez."_

_ "No...It's just...Stuff. Happened." _

_ "What kind of stuff? School kind of stuff? Did someone die?" _Jared questioned.

_"Whoa, that's intense. Who croaked? Brother? Sister? Her mom?" _Kaden cocked his head to the side.

_"No..."_

_ "Wait. Oh, shit. Bitch got pregnant, didn't she?" _Paul asked. Seth growled.

_"She's not a bitch. Don't call her that!" _

_ "Did she?" _

Seth built up his walls, turning away from them.

_"Holy crap, she did!" _

_ "It makes sense now!" _

_ "Shit, this is rich." _

_ "...Seth? She...You got her pregnant?" _Leah asked.

_"...Umm...Yeah." _He couldn't look his sister in the face. She sighed.

_"Oh." _

Seth's mind reeled with the thoughts of his brothers and he cringed, a headache making its presence known.

_"The kid isn't his," _Kaden suddenly thought.

_"What are you talking about? Of course it is!" _Leah practically yelled at him. Seth turned slowly towards his brother, a questioning look on his face.

_"She didn't tell you?" _asked Kaden.

_"Tell me what?" _

_ "...We...Well...We did...Some stuff." _Seth growled and lunged at him, pinning him down.

_"You did _what_?!" _

_ "The kid's not yours. It's mine." _

_ "Liar." _

_ "Ask her." _

_ "..." _

_ "I dare you to, pup." _Kaden smirked at him, making Seth growl louder. The older wolf threw the younger one off and sat up. Seth lunged at him again and the two began to fight.

_"Stop," _Sam commanded, just as Seth was thrown off again.

_"She wouldn't do that to me," _he thought, standing up.

_"Yeah. Tell that to _her_." _

_ "I'm gonna kill you!" _

_ "Seth. Stop. Go cool off. The rest of you phase." _

The commands were followed diligently, and Seth paced the forest floor, his head reeling with anger.

_"She would've told me. She wouldn't have...!" _Seth growled louder and slammed his head into a tree.

_"It's your choice of what to do. Beating yourself up over this isn't going to solve anything." _

Sam ran off before phasing back to his human form.

Seth sat down on his haunches and looked at the trees again. With a sigh, he walked back to his house, counting his steps.

000000000000000000000000

"Hi, sweetie-"

"_Why didn't you tell me_?" Seth asked in a 'cut-the-crap' voice. Jazmyn knitted her brows together, sitting up on the couch.

"What are you-"

"_Kaden told me._"

"O-oh."

_"It's true then? That the...That it isn't mine?" _

"I don't know who's it is," Jazmyn whispered quietly. She looked up as her mother and maid walked into the apartment, the maid weighed down with bags and bags of clothes from various stores.

"You can set those in my room, Ana."

"Yes."

"Hi, honey! How are you?"

"Not now, Mom." Jazmyn rushed off to her room. "Seth-"

"_Why would you...Why'd you do it_?"

"It was a heat of the moment kind of thing, okay? Like...It was like a few days before we first-"

"_Only days_?" Seth asked, hurt.

"And I regret it. I totally regret it, Seth. I love you. I love you so much, and I never meant to hurt you in any way."

"_So that means...The kid can't be mine then. It...It's Kaden's._"

"But we...We..." Jazmyn was at a loss for words. They hadn't _slept together_ slept together. Like...It was a two minutes of guilty pleasure; lasting such a short time because Jazmyn had realized that they shouldn't have been doing what they were doing.

"Seth-"

"_Jazz...I don't know if I'm mad at you, or at Kaden...Or at myself._"

"But you don't need to be mad at yourself! It's my fault!"

"_No, it's mine. I shouldn't have looked up that day in the diner. Then maybe...Maybe I wouldn't have imprinted_."

"Are you saying that you regret the imprint? Because of...Because of this?"

_"...Maybe. Maybe not. I just know that I don't think I could ever trust you again, Jazz." _

"But Seth! I told you! I'm sorry! I'm fucking _sorry_! It was a mistake. A complete and utter mistake!"

"_I love you Jazz. And I trust...I trusted you._"

"Baby, I love you, too! I'm sorry!"

"_Sorry can't take back what you did." _

"And I know that. I regret it, babe. Forever, okay! I'll have to live with the guilt that I...That I did this to you and I can't ever go and undo it! Seth, forgive me, please-"

"_I don't know...I don't know if I can_." If Jazmyn could see Seth now, she'd know that he wasn't as calm as he sounded. Tears were running down his cheeks and he was on the brink of phasing. "_Have a nice life, Jazz. I hope that the baby knows that you love it, alright? I think that it's best...If we just stay out of each other's way." _

"But _Seth_-"

"_I love you, okay? I just can't..._" Seth sighed and hung up, falling back onto his bed.

Jazmyn froze, the phone still gripped tightly in her hand.

"Seth...Seth!" she screamed. He was overreacting. He had to forgive her. Sure...The baby might not be his, but he had to forgive her. He just had to.

And it hurt her to know that he probably never would.

She started to cry, dropping the phone onto the floor.

"Jazzy?" a deep voice asked from her window. Nat sat down on the floor next to his little sister's chair. "What's wrong, sis?"

"I did something bad, Nat. Something really bad."

"...And that dog found out?"

"Mhm. Seth, yeah." Jazmyn burst into more tears, finding it hard to control them. Nathanial wrapped his cold arms around his sister and she buried her face into his chest. "Why wouldn't he forgive me?"

"Because he's a self-centered, cold-hearted, smelly dog, that's why," Nathanial told her bitterly. Jazmyn cried harder and he let her for a while. Finally, he squeezed her slightly. "Stop crying."

She did.

He wiped away her tears and cupped her face into his.

"Take me up on my offer?"

"...But...You're killing them. The wolves."

"It's what we're supposed to do, Jazzy."

"But-"

"Hush."

She clamped her mouth shut.

"Come with me. I'll change you."

Jazmyn tried to talk, but she couldn't.

"Come with me, Jazmyn. I know you want to."

"Seth-"

"He's made it clear that he doesn't want to forgive you for the horrible thing that you've done, sis. Are you really going to wait around for something that - let's face it - most likely will never happen?"

Jazmyn was quiet, thinking about it for a long time.

The way he'd sounded on the phone, Nathanial was actually right.

"No," she finally said, even though it pained her to. "No. I don't."

"Right. So..." He touched her cheek and stared deep into her eyes. "Come with me."

"Yes, Nathanial."

000000000000000000000000

_"Sam, here."_

_ "Yes! Sam, it's Sue." _

_ "Sue-"_

_ "Seth's missing." _

_ "What do you mean, 'missing?'"_

_ "All of his things are here...But he...He isn't. I'm worried. Is he with you?" _

_ "No, Sue. He isn't. I'll get the guys together. We'll find him. Don't worry." _

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Seth didn't want anyone to find him. He wanted to roam around the world alone. There was no point in being in La Push anymore. He had nothing and no _one _to live for. Jazmyn obviously didn't love him, his father was dead...His own mother seemed to care more about her diner's success than her own son.

He walked around for days in his wolf form; drinking from streams and hunting birds and other small animals for food. Slowly, he felt his mind beginning to deteriorate. Gone was Seth Clearwater: fifteen-year-old son of Harry and Sue Clearwater, brother of Leah Clearwater. That ship had long since sailed.

Now he was...Wolf. The Wolf. The giant animal that frightened people and ate raw animals.

He barely thought. And when he did, the only thought on his mind was on food and water.

_Kill. Eat. Survive._

That was his motto. But, to be honest, he didn't care much about the _survive _part. Surprisingly, he didn't want to live. So he started caring less about killing and eating. He just...Wandered.

It was on day seven (or was it eight?) of his wandering that he knew he was going to die if he didn't eat soon.

_Go on. Eat. You know you want to_.

It was the first human-like thought that he'd had in days.

Before long, he had stumbled upon a deer.

Yes. A _deer_.

He crouched low in the underbrush, ready to pounce on it. When he did, something else pounced on it, too. He growled at the other wolf, who growled back at him. It was enough of a distraction that the deer was able to escape.

The other wolf stopped growling and eyed Seth's thin and tired-looking frame. Seth was quivering and his legs looked weak; like they could give out at any moment.

_"Do you hear me, son?" _he asked.

_"Yeah," _Seth nodded once.

_"Come with me." _

Seth followed closely behind the larger, darker colored wolf. He started to limp.

_"You hurt your leg in the past?" _

_ "I might've. Yeah." _

_ "Hm." _

And then they came upon a small cabin in a clearing. Smoke puffed out of a chimney and animal hide hung from the open doorway. The bigger wolf phased into a human, walking into the house. He came back out in worn-out jeans and a sweatshirt, holding a bundle of clothes in his hands. He threw it at Seth and went back into the house.

Seth phased and pulled on the clothes, which were a tad too big for him. He didn't mind though. Surprisingly, it felt good to be in human clothes again.

He stood outside for a little while before realizing that the bigger wolf wouldn't come out to get him. He pushed through the animal hide and found himself inside a one-room cottage. A dog looked up from in front of the fire and growled at him.

"Down, Rat," the bigger wolf commanded. The dog laid back down, his eyes still on Seth. "Got a name, boy?"

"Seth."

"Sit down, boy." Seth sat on a wooden chair, and the bigger wolf handed him a bone covered in meat. "It's deer. Eat up."

Seth took a bite and then another and another. It was so good, and he hadn't eaten in so long. The bigger wolf handed him a wooden bowl filled with water, which Seth downed in three gulps. He finished off the deer meet soon after.

"Th-thanks."

"Mhm. I'm Eli, by the way."

"Thank you."

"You need a place to stay, boy? Where you headed?"

"I...Don't know."

"You can sleep here tonight. I don't have beds. The floor and a blanket is all I got. If you want, you get some leaves together to make it softer, but that's about it."

"You don't have to..."

"Help me clean this deer hide, boy."

Seth stood up and watched Eli's hands as he cleaned the hide. He joined in after a few seconds.

"Good, good. Now..."

An hour later, Seth had cleaned three more hides as Eli lounged by the fire, chewing on a bone.

"When you're done, you should sleep. Look like you've not rested in a few days, kid."

"Okay." Seth laid down on his back and closed his eyes. He felt something rest on his chest and he shot up, coming face to face with the dog that had growled at him earlier.

"That's just Rat. She ain't hurt nobody. Looks tough, though," Eli chuckled and Seth laid back down. Rat laid down, too, and was soon snoring lightly. Seth closed his eyes and, for the first time in days, slept peacefully.

0000000000000000000000000

_Three Years Later_

Jazmyn crossed her legs and folded her hands neatly over her lap, smirking up at her brother.

"Of course I'm happy to go back. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Hm. No reason, sis."

"You remember the plan, don't you?" David asked her. Natalie and Casey leaned over in their seats to get a look at Jazmyn, who smiled at them.

"Of course," she grinned and leaned back in her seat. She clicked the service button on her seat, and a flight attendant appeared almost immediately.

"Miss?"

"Ginger ale, please. And a juice box."

"Alright. I'll be right back."

She looked back at Nathanial. "I had a dream last night."

"Forget about it. That's why we're going back. He doesn't care about you, remember?"

"We'll have a chat with him," Natalie smiled.

"Yeah. Just like you had a 'chat' with my parents. Look where _that_ ended," Jazmyn rolled her eyes and smoothed out a wrinkle on her blouse. Then she straightened out her blazer. The attendant came back.

"Ginger ale..." she handed Jazmyn her drink. "And a juice box for the little cutie."

"What do you say, Cher?"

"Thank you very, very much," Cheri smiled, handing her juice box to David for opening.

"You are welcome very, very much," the attendant grinned and walked down the aisle.

"Sip it slow, Cheri-Berry. It's going to be a while before your next potty break."

"Okay, Mommy."

"Hey, it got us a luxury apartment in Manhattan. Who can argue with that?" Natalie smiled.

When the plane landed in Forks, Casey briefed Jazmyn once again in the car she'd stolen from the parking lot.

"Remember. You're begging for forgiveness...Gaining trust. The whole sha-bang. Got it?"

"Sha-bang. Got it, Case." Jazmyn smiled, trying to hide the regret and doubt on her face.

"Hey. You got this," Nathanial brushed back a lock of Jazmyn's long, black hair. "I mean, you've already done three by yourself. It gets nothing but easier from here."

"Easier. Yeah." Jazmyn looked down at her suitcase in her lap. The car stopped outside the Uley's house, and memories flooded into Jazmyn's mind. She looked at Nathanial. "I feel sick." He frowned and put a hand on her shoulder.

"You're fine. Knock 'em dead."

"Not yet, anyway."

Laughter.

Jazmyn looked at the ceiling of the car and then slid out, taking Cheri's hand in hers.

She heard the car drive away as she marched up the front steps, ringing the doorbell. She licked her fingers and wiped her eyes and put on her best sad/begging forgiveness/worried mother face.

"Look alive, Cher."

The three-year-old clutched her bunny toy tighter against her small frame, looking at the toes of her classic Mary Janes.

The door opened and Heaven stared, her mouth agape. She frowned.

"You have some nerve showing up here, Cuz."

"Is Seth here? Seth...!" Jazmyn tugged her daughter behind her, going into the house.

"You!" Kim frowned.

"Me," Jazmyn gave her sarcastic jazz hands. "Where is Seth?"

"He's been gone for three straight years now," Leah answered. She folded her arms across her chest.

"But I..." Jazmyn's eyes widened for a second. This is not the way it was supposed to go. "Where?"

"We don't know," Paul growled at her. "Why do you care anyway? After what you did to him?"

"Because-"

"Jazmyn, I think it's just best if you leave," Emily said, looking down.

"Emily-"

"Jazmyn, just-"

Cheri tugged on the end of Jazmyn's blouse. "I need to potty," she whispered. It was quiet.

"You can wait, Cheri."

"Okay."

"Who is that?" Embry asked.

"Damn, are you really that stupid, Elliot?" Jazmyn rolled her eyes. "_Ob_viously, she's my fucking daughter!"

"You cuss around her?" Leah quirked a brow.

"Why not?"

"Hm."

"Mommy..." Cheri hid behind her mother's legs, seeing Emily's face and the big, scary guys around her. Jazmyn tapped the little girl's fingers and she peeked back out. "Do you know my daddy?" she asked the Pack.

"I'm sorry, I...Cheri, honey, that's not a good question to ask." Jazmyn looked at Cheri's blue eyes with her own blue ones, a hint of pride in hers. She smiled at her sadly, which made the little girl grin wide.

"Why are you here, Jazmyn?" Leah sighed. Quiet again. Jazmyn picked up her daughter and held her close, closing her eyes.

"I wanted to ask Seth to forgive me, and I was hoping that when he saw Cheri, he'd..."

"He'd what?"

"He'd know...That she's his."

**Don't...Hate me! Please! I'm sorry I skipped a lot. So...Yeah. Review, please!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	13. Chapter 13

**I am so, so, so sorry I kept you guys waiting for so long! Ugh, it seems like a LIFETIME since I updated. You wouldn't believe how many times I deleted what I had written to start all the way over again from the beginning. But I am happy to say...CHAPTER THIRTEEN IS FINISHED, AND READY FOR YOU BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE TO READ!**

**~SashaFierce12.0 **

Chapter Thirteen

It was quiet. Looks were split between Jazmyn and Cheri. Cheri and Leah. Leah and Jazmyn.

"You're lying," Leah finally hissed. "Now get out. Before I rip your insides out with my bare hands."

"Ouch." Jazmyn sighed, "C'mon, Cher. It's a shame they don't want to tell us where your father is. I guess...We'll just have to go back home."

"Yes. Go. Home. Now."

"Fine. I. Will. Go...Now." Jazmyn smiled at them and left, slamming the door shut behind her. She let out a frustrated scream on the porch, and dug her cell phone out of her purse, dialing her brother's phone number.

"_What_?"

"They don't believe me."

"_I was afraid of that. Oh, well. Makes our job easier. Now we can just...Get them while they're all together._"

"What? You mean...Now?"

"_No. But sooner than was to be expected. The others seem to actually be enjoying themselves,_" Nathanial said, sounding a little disgusted. "_Natalie's found herself a new man to stalk._"

"Oh. Joy," Jazmyn rolled her eyes. "Where are you?"

"_Port Angeles. I have business._"

"Looks like Cher and I are paying a little visit to Gramma, then."

"_Looks like it_."

"Alright. See you soon."

"_Yeah_._ Then we'll come up with a new plan. I already have one in my mind...It just needs a little more insight. I'll see you later._" Nathanial hung up and Jazmyn stuffed her phone back into her purse before grabbing Cheri's hand and marching down the street.

Leah watched them, her lips pursed and her eyes narrowed.

"She's up to something."

"When is she not?" Kim rolled her eyes.

"She smelled like leech," Jacob said to Leah, who only nodded. A little while after Seth disappeared, Leah stopped phasing. She kept her hair cut short; in a sleek bob. Her and Jacob also had a house together now, and were engaged.

"Maybe she ran into one on her way here...?" Claire asked.

"Possible," Sam nodded.

"I hope she doesn't come back," Leah said, folding her arms over herself. "I'm so..." She let out a short frustrated sigh. "She needs to pay for what she did. It's why Sethy left."

It was silent once again, everyone thinking of their 'little brother', who had disappeared without a trace three years before. For weeks, they searched for him. And they thought they had found him, following his scent to a lone wolf's house deep in the woods.

"Seth? Yeah, I seen him. Spent the night here. Boy was gone before I woke up, though. Too bad," he'd said.

But they didn't give up. Well, Leah didn't give up. The Pack had long since tried to forget about him, but Leah...She was a whole different story.

His disappearance took a major toll on her. She was more reserved than she was after her miscarriage. Jacob loved her, and knew that she loved him, but she was quiet and kept to herself most of the time.

"I'm sure he'll turn up," Heaven shrugged and smiled a little bit.

"Not with his screw-up of an imprint back again," Kim muttered. Leah sighed, and stood up.

"I'm gonna head home," she said.

"I'll meet you there later. I have patrol," Jacob stood up, too. Leah nodded and he kissed her cheek tenderly, watching her leave the house.

At her own home, Leah sat and stared for a while at the refrigerator.

_You're not gonna do it. You're not gonna do it._

She stood and rushed to the handle, gripping it tightly in her fists.

_Fuck, Leah. St-op! You need to-_

Ignoring her inner self, Leah opened the refrigerator and took out everything edible. She barely had the containers on the counter before she had half of its contents in her mouth. She ate half of the leftover zucchini casserole, and the rest of the mashed potatoes and roast beef. After tearing through five more containers of leftovers, she dropped a lid, and jumped, snapping out of her trance-like state.

Tears pricked at her eyes and she slowly began to clean up, leaving no trace of what had happened. Finally, she disappeared into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

Later, Leah sat on the couch with her legs pulled up to her chest, a blanket wrapped around her body. She shivered uncontrollably, despite the house not even being cold.

She let out a shaky breath, and buried her face into her knees. The door opened.

"Hey!" Jacob greeted. He shut the door behind him quietly. "Are you...? Leah? What's wrong?" Jacob was sitting next to her and had his arms wrapped around her shivering torso. She stopped shaking quickly, cuddling into his side. He sighed, pulling her tighter.

That's when he felt something that scared him to the core. He could feel the outline of Leah's ribs, through the blanket.

"Whoa," he whispered. "Lee, I think you need to cut back on those morning runs." She didn't reply, and just gripped his shirt tightly in her fists instead.

"It's his birthday on Friday," she whispered quietly.

"Oh."

"He'll be back, Jake, right? He won't let us miss his eighteenth birthday, right?"

Jacob was quiet.

"Tell me, Jacob. Tell me he'll be back. He'll be back, okay? Right?"

"Leah..."

She sniffed and stood up, walking down the hallway towards the bedroom. Her hand gripped the blanket, _swish-swishing _on the ground as she walked. Jacob's eyes softened, and he felt his heart break. She was crumbling. Of course, she didn't show it around everyone else, but when they were at home...

No one but him was around to see, and he was left to pick up the tiny pieces afterwards.

It scared him. She was scaring him. It seemed Leah had just slowly made a turn for the worst over the past few years, and he feared that he could do nothing to stop it.

000000000000000000000000

Seth leaned onto the side wall of a house and slid down to his butt, taking out a much-needed cigarette and lighting it.

He'd barely gotten out of there with his life.

That old lady had looked pretty freaky back there. If he was lucky, maybe she thought she'd chased out the 'raccoon-rat-mouse' in the attic, and he could crawl back up there and sleep some more. Steal food from the fridge when she was out.

_ Then again..._

He looked up at the sky, blowing out a puff of smoke. He stood suddenly, stamping it out with his foot. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his worn-out jeans, and walked through the alleyway.

_If I walk the whole day, stay in the shadows..._

Seth climbed over a fence, looking down before jumping off. He cursed under his breath when he lost his footing and fell, scraping the side of his hand. He stared at it, waiting for it to heal.

Which, it didn't.

_Oh. Right_, he thought. He couldn't phase. One day, he was running around on four legs, the next...He couldn't even growl right.

He missed being able to burst into a giant wolf, actually. Doing that was like the key to let out all of his anger and frustration; just run it off and he'd be fine. But now-

_Shit_.

He tore down a poster with his picture on it, crumbling it up in his hands. He always seemed to come back. All. The. Fucking. _Time_. As if...As if he was just making one big giant circle around Washington, and it finally ended in Forks. La Push.

That was his home.

_Shut up. It used to be. _

He hated thinking about it. La Push, I mean. It brought back so many bad memories...Like the death of his father. Jazmyn...

Seth stopped walking, leaning against a wall and looking up at the overcast sky.

_Not _her_ again. Just quit thinking about her, dumbass. The more you forget, the better. _

He rubbed his chest, trying to massage the distant pain out of it. Sure, he couldn't phase, that didn't mean that he still felt the slight tug of the imprint.

One time, he found himself walking east, towards New York. He realized where he was going, and turned back around. Only to find himself - once again - in Forks.

And now he was here again, staring at yet another picture of his younger self. Fifteen-year-old Seth was all smiles and sunshine. Fifteen-year-old Seth looked happy. Fifteen-year-old Seth looked well-rested and good.

Seventeen-year-old Seth was far from that one.

If he were to look into his reflection now, he'd see a taller...Slimmer, older-looking young man. His jaw was sharp and chiseled, and his face hard; not holding the same love and happiness that Fifteen-year-old Seth had held. His hair was a little longer, sticking up in some places, and his eyes were the dullest brown color that anyone could ever see.

It was depressing, really.

Suddenly, he felt something drip off the end of his nose. He jumped when it plopped onto the face of his picture.

_The fuck?_

Tears. Tears were falling one by one down his face. He was crying.

Cry_ing, dumbass. Of course._

It was nothing new to him. He'd shed so many tears over the past few years, this was something one could expect every day. Like breathing.

It's one of the reasons he started smoking; helped him to suck up the baby tears and move on.

He gripped the paper tightly in his hands, feeling himself begin to shake. His bones started to shift in his body, and he started to panic. He dropped the paper, letting it fly away with the wind. He raced down the streets of downtown Forks, hurrying for the trees.

When he made it, he crouched down low, trying to make the pain go away. When it didn't, he did his best to relax. The sound of clothes ripping and a wolf howl filled the air, and before he knew it...

Seth was a wolf. A giant, sandy brown wolf.

_Fuck._

At his house, Jacob's head shot up, hearing the howl. Almost immediately, there was another one, and then his cell phone rang. He picked it up.

_"In the woods. Now. You're...You're not gonna believe this," _Embry said. Jacob hung up and ran out the back patio door, tearing his clothes off and jumping into the air. He came back down on all four of his wolf legs, running to meet up with his brothers.

_"Look who's back," _Paul said.

_"Seth?" _Jacob skidded to a stop at a sandy-brown colored wolf. It stared at him and looked down. Jacob felt as if a dam broke when he let down his mental walls and answered, _"Yeah." _

_ "Bro!" _Embry barked excitedly. He ran around him happily and barked. Seth stared at him before looking away.

_"Are you gonna make me stay?" _he asked.

_"We can't make you, but...It'd be nice," _Jared answered.

_"Oh. Hm. Maybe." _Seth looked at the trees, thinking about how he could really go for another cigarette at the moment. But, unfortunately, his dumb wolf paws had squashed those. And, considering how broke he was, it'd be a lifetime before he could even have one.

He turned back to his brothers, and blinked.

_"I guess...You guys can take me to my mom now. Bet she'll be happy." _

_ "Yeah. She will," _Sam nodded.

_"Can I...Can I get some clothes first? The wolf thing...Kinda took me by surprise back there."_

_ "Yeah! Yeah, of course!" _Sam barked happily. Seth followed him to the trees behind his house, where he sat and waited. Sam phased and ran in, coming back out with a pair of shorts and a hoodie. Seth took them in his mouth and phased, pulling them on. He sighed, sticking his hands in his pockets out of habit.

He looked down at his right foot, which bounced up and down.

Another habit he'd picked up.

"Come on. We'll call Sue from here," Sam grinned. Seth only sighed before following him into the familiar little cabin.

"Emily!" Embry called. "Heav! Kim! Rach! Look! Our little bro's _home_!"

"What?" Emily squealed. She ran out of the kitchen and stopped, her hands flying to her mouth at the sight of Seth. He gave her a grim smile and waved once. She jumped up and ran to hug him. He was startled at someone hugging him; he hadn't had one in so long.

It felt weird.

He looked down at the top of her head, his mouth open a bit. Finally, he pushed her off gently, giving her a blank stare, filled a little bit with fear and worry. She just grinned wider, sniffing back tears. She started walking backwards, towards her kitchen.

"I'm gonna make whatever you want to eat. Spaghetti? Muffins...? An omelet? Oh, gosh...I'll just cook a big, humongous feast! Everything for you, 'kay? Just..." she squealed again and ran into the kitchen, pots and pans almost instantly beginning to clang together.

Seth let out a long, hard sigh and closed his eyes, placing a hand on his forehead.

"I'm gonna step out for a second," he said.

"Where?" Kim stepped forward, afraid that he'd run off again.

"Just to the corner store. Don't freak, okay?" Seth raised his eyebrows at her and then left. At the store, he walked in undetected by the young clerk, who was typing away vigorously on her phone. Seth smirked, disappearing behind the rack of different chips. He eyed the small display of cigarettes close to the counter, and licked his lips once before walking by casually.

He grabbed a pack of Marlboros, and slipped it into his pocket. Again, not noticed by the girl at the counter. He walked out of the door, and her head shot up.

"Oh! Have a nice...Yeah, whatever," she waved him off and went back to her phone. Seth walked back to Sam's house, feeling a little happier now that he had a pack to keep him calm.

He looked up at the sky contentedly and pushed the wooden door of the cottage open, shutting it softly behind him. He faced the back of a woman with long, black hair in a low ponytail. Hearing the door close, she whipped around and met his eyes. Hers welled up with tears and her hands immediately flew to her face.

"Oh, my..." she trailed off, breaking down into sobs. She sniffed and hurried over to him, where she wrapped her arms around him tightly; afraid that if she held him too loose, he'd run away again.

Seth stared down at her head, a little confused at what to do at first. He flicked his eyes at everyone else in the room before returning them to his mother.

Finally, ever-so-slowly, he wrapped his arms around Sue's small frame. He laid his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes with a small sigh, squeezing her tightly, as if to soak up the comfort from her body.

Sue sniffed and pulled away, smiling and looking him up and down.

"Oh..." she breathed. "Wow, look at you, my baby boy...! Oh..." she hugged him again. "You're so big now...I've missed you so much! I was so, so worried when I couldn't find you!"

"I'm...Sorry," Seth shrugged when she pulled away again. She sniffed back more tears.

"You look like your father. Just like him, Sethy." Said wolf looked down, his eyes narrowing. Everywhere he went, it seemed that his father had something to do with everything. It was as if he couldn't escape the memory of him, no matter how much he wanted to.

He stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest. He began to shake and looked up.

"You have a lighter?" he asked quietly.

"In the drawer in the kitchen. Where it always-" Sam stopped talking when Seth walked to the kitchen, reaching on top of the refrigerator to get the candle lighter out of the basket. Emily knitted her brows together, standing up from putting something into the oven.

Seth casually walked out, and back into the living room. He raised his eyebrows and smiled grimly at everyone staring at him.

"So, I'm guessing you don't want tobacco smell all over your house, so...I should head out. I'll bring back the lighter, though."

"You smoke?" Sue asked.

"Yeah."

"Since when?" Paul's eyes widened a little bit.

Seth shrugged, and took out the pack of stolen Marlboros, tearing open the wrapper. He pulled one out and stuck it in his mouth before heading for the door.

"Seth..." Sue sighed.

"Yeah?" he stopped.

"Can't you...Can't you quit? For me?" she asked. "I mean, you just got back, and now I'm finding out that you..." she trailed off. Seth turned to her.

"I'll tell you what, okay? When the last little one of these is gone...Then I'll quit. 'Kay?" he smiled at her then walked out of the house and onto the porch. It took him a few times, but he finally got the candle lighter lit, and he fired up the butt of the cigarette, taking in a deep drag. He was immediately calm, smiling contentedly.

"Honey..." Sue said quietly from the door. She scrunched her face up at the smell, but wiped her look away quickly when he turned slightly to look at her. "I'm...Happy you're back...!" she fidgeted with her hands before brushing a lock of her hair behind her ear, and doing her best to grin at him. He turned again to look at the trees in front of the house.

Sue suddenly found the ground at her feet interesting, staring at it for a very long time. Seth blew out puffs of smoke, and cleared his throat.

"How's Leah?" he asked.

"Fine. Fine, fine," Sue nodded, not looking up from her feet. Seth nodded once, gray smoke flowing out of his mouth and nostrils. He walked down the stairs of the porch, and stomped out the cigarette in the grass. He ran a hand through his hair once, and then drew one down his face with a sigh. Then he turned and went back up the stairs.

"Nineteen more," he said to his mother. Sue frowned, confused at his statement, making her son smirk. He walked back inside without another word, and sat down on the edge of the couch, folding his arms over his chest.

"Sethy."

He froze at the sound of his childlike nickname and turned around, seeing his sister. She screamed, clamping a hand over her mouth. Then she ran towards him, just as he stood up to catch her. She held him tightly, kissing his cheeks over and over again.

"I hate you, I hate you, I hate you so _much_!" she said between her kisses. She hugged him for a long time after that, squeezing her eyes shut and breathing in his strong tobacco scent. With a sigh, she let go.

"W-wow," she threw her hands up to gesture at him before clapping them back to her sides. "I mean...Look at you, Baby Bro." Seth shrugged. She was about to say something, but was cut off by Emily chirping: "Cookies are ready! Fresh and hot! Seth gets the first pick, though." She skipped into the living room with a container of chocolate chip cookies, grinning at Seth as she held it out to him.

"Thanks," he smiled at her and took one. He stared at it for a little while, finally setting it on his knee for later.

"You're not gonna eat it?" Leah asked.

"Oh, uh..." Seth took a small bite of it, not allowing himself to enjoy the warm and gooey flavor of the doughy chocolate. Being on the road all that time, he'd taught himself to savor every bit of food that he had. Every cigarette. It was rare when he actually had money to buy things that he needed.

"_All _of it?"

"Oh."

_You're home now, smartness. Eat._

Seth sat back in his place on the couch, taking a bigger bite. And he let himself enjoy it this time. He sat up again, a smile on his face.

"Em, this is _fantastic_," he complimented, grinning wider.

"Oh, stop. These are actually not my best batch. I might've burned the bottoms a little-"

"No. No, no, no. It's good. It's _really _good. Like...I don't remember the last time I've eaten something this great." Seth finished off the cookie, his smile slowly fading.

"When was the last time you _ate_?" Sam asked. Sue eyed her son worriedly. He only shrugged. "Tell me, Kid."

"Umm...Like...I dunno. Yesterday morning, or some-"

"I'm making you food," Emily announced, disappearing into the kitchen.

"Let me help you," Sue followed after her.

"It's not like I've gone longer. I'll live," Seth frowned.

"What's the longest?" Jacob asked.

"Few days," the younger wolf shrugged. "It's not like I was hungry. I was too sick to eat."

"What do you mean 'sick?'" Heaven leaned forward.

"Dunno. I just...I felt bad," Seth shrugged, leaving it at that. He sighed and moved so he was lounging upside down on the couch. "What's been up with you guys? Besides trying to find me?" he rolled his eyes.

"You know. Running around, catching vamps. The usual," Jared shrugged, and Seth nodded. He rubbed his eyes and sighed before looking back at everyone else.

"Did you...Have any...You know..." Leah bit her lip. Seth stared at her.

"Yeah. Plenty. Reason two why Seth Clearwater puffs tobacco," he answered, looking her dead in the eyes.

"What's reason one?"

"To forget. About you," he answered simply. "But you always find a way to wriggle yourselves back into my mind. You know how many times I actually came home? Tons. But I forced myself to turn back around. And I just...Went. Smoke my way through life." He patted the pocket of his hoodie, where the rest of the Marlboros were.

Leah looked at the others, and then sighed.

"Seth...I think that there's something you should know," she said.

"What? Someone die?"

"No. Nothing like that," Sam shook his head.

"Hey, I just realized..." Seth sat up, twisted around in the couch. "Where's Kaden?"

"Last we heard, college in California," Jacob replied. Seth nodded, sitting upright.

"Good. Son of a bitch can stay there," he muttered. "What do you have to tell me?"

It was quiet as everyone exchanged looks. Eyebrows were raised, everyone coaxing someone to tell Seth the news.

"Guys?" the young wolf quirked a brow. Heaven took in a deep breath and met his eyes.

"Jazz's back," she said quietly. It was quiet. Seth broke the silence by grabbing the candle lighter off the arm of the couch, and digging a cigarette from the pack. He stuck it in his mouth and yanked the door open.

"Reason three."

**I don't know...I actually have no clue where this is going right now, so I'm just gonna ride Bullseye through the wind, and see where it takes me!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"_Fuck_," Seth cursed after failing for the eleventh time to light his cigarette. He threw the candle lighter across the porch with a gruff sigh, laying his head on his knees.

_Just keep your breathing steady, Clearwater. Forget about it. You'll get one soon._

He brought his hands up to the top of his head and pressed down as hard as he could. He sat up afterwards with another sigh, and stared blankly at the dirt driveway in front of the house. Finally he stood up and went back inside.

"Lighter's broken," he said, sitting down at the table. He laid his head down on it, not moving. He hated it when he had nothing to light his cigarettes with. He felt anxious, and he never slept peacefully until he could finally light one up.

Seth groaned lightly, still not moving. He sniffed once, the scent from Emily's food wafting into his nose. Ignoring it, he ran a hand through his hair.

"When'd she get back?" he mumbled.

"She came over here a few days ago. I haven't seen her since, though," Sam answered.

"She stopped by Gramma's yesterday. But I don't know where she's staying," Heaven shrugged, and Embry pulled her close to him.

"Did she...Have someone with her...?" Seth asked, peeking out from underneath his arm. Getting the message, everyone exchanged looks. Quil stared apologetically at him. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, _shit_," he hissed. "What is it?"

"A girl," Jacob murmured. Seth's shoulders slumped.

"What's she...What's she look like?"

"Black hair. Blue eyes. Like her mom," Heaven replied. "Like Jazmyn." Seth was still for a long time, before he finally sat up. His eyes softened and he breathed slowly in and out, running a hand down his face. He groaned again, and that's when Sam approached him with the candle lighter. He flicked the switch, and a little flame appeared out of the top.

Digging a cigarette out of his pocket, Seth stuck it in his mouth and leaned forward, waiting for the end to light. When it did, he slumped back in his chair, closing his eyes and taking in a deep drag. He blew smoke out, looking down at his bare feet.

"She was looking for you," Leah said quietly, watching her little brother take in another long breath of smoke. He pulled his right leg up to rest on the chair, and leaned his chin on it.

"The...kid. She...She look like me?" he asked after a few minutes.

"It's hard to say...Cheri looks a lot like Jazmyn," Heaven said. Seth met her eyes, his brows raised a little bit.

"Cheri? Her name's Cheri?" he whispered. Heaven nodded, and he scratched the back of his head, sticking the cigarette back in his mouth again.

"You left because of her. Didn't you?" Leah asked solemnly.

Silence. Seth blew out smoke.

"I left because I was done feeling sorry for myself. I wanted...I just wanted to get away from everything, forget every_one_. It's hard being in a place that's caused you so much hurt, y'know?" he narrowed his eyes at his sister, who looked down.

Seth put out his cigarette on a plate that Sam had set down in front of him.

"Sorry for stinking up the place."

"S'okay. The smell of Em's cooking covers it up," he smiled at him. Seth had smoked three when he was outside, and this had been in fourth one in half an hour.

"Fifteen," he muttered, inwardly groaning.

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"Mommy, I wanna play _there_!"

"Cher..."

"Mommy, please?!" little Cheri pleaded, tugging on her mother's shirt. She pointed to the beach and stared up at Jazmyn with the biggest puppy dog pout she could muster up. Jazmyn melted, leaning down to kiss the top of her head.

"Fine." She patted Cheri's back as the little girl shrieked and ran out into the sand, swinging her stuffed bunny around. "But only for a little bit, Cher, got it?" There was no answer, but Jazmyn smiled anyway. "Not too close to the water!"

Crossing her arms, Jazmyn admired the beach, noting how beautiful it still was even after years of being in the city. She brushed back stray locks of her hair, blowing in the wind. She had completely tuned everything out, looking out at the horizon. Suddenly, she snapped back to reality at Cheri's delighted screams.

She was too close to the water. The waves were so strong in the October weather, they could pull her in at any moment and she'd be gone.

"Cheri! _Cheri_!" Jazmyn yelled, running down the beach. She came to an abrupt stop when someone picked her up and brought her away from the waves.

"Go back to your mom, kid. Those waves can kill you, y'know. What were you thinking?" he asked, setting her down. Cheri placed her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels and toes. "You learned." Cheri nodded. The man looked up and met eyes with Jazmyn.

"S-Seth," she stammered quietly. He stared at her, his jaw slack.

"Jazmyn," he finally said after a few seconds. He stood up.

"You're...back."

"You, too."

"Yeah." Jazmyn felt her knees go weak at the sight of him.

_Lord, he's gorgeous_, she thought. _Look at me, babe! Dammit, look at me!_

"So, umm...This your daughter?" he asked, his eyes on Cheri.

"Uhuh."

"She's, uh, pretty."

"What do you say, Cher?"

"Thank you," the little girl said shyly.

"Welcome," Seth's voice softened. Suddenly he crouched down in front of her, taking her chin up with his forefinger and thumb. He stared at her face, moving it around to different angles to get a better look. He mumbled something incoherent to Jazmyn, and stood back up.

He started to walk off, feeling a strange mix of...He couldn't even pinpoint what he was feeling at the moment, and ran a hand down his face. He began to walk faster, and Jazmyn ran after him.

"Seth, wait!" she called. He stopped, not facing her. "I'm..." she took in a deep breath. "I can't come to express...How _sorry_ I am that...That you had to find out...Like you did. And I'm sorry for being unfaithful to you. I really, truly am."

Silence.

"But Cher..." Jazmyn closed her eyes and took in another deep breath. "Cheri, she's yours, Baby. I know she's yours. I look into her face every day, and you're what I see," she said quietly, and opened her eyes again.

More silence.

"I don't believe you," Seth whispered gruffly. "How can I believe anything you say?"

"It was one _time_, Seth! One time, okay? And I-"

"I loved you, Jazz! I...I _love_ you, Jazmyn Anderson. You wouldn't believe how much it hurt me. When I found out," he whipped around to face her, his teeth bared. He growled a bit.

_Man, I could really use a smoke right now, _he thought. But he had to save his pack. He promised his mother.

Plus, he only had eleven left.

"I love you, too!" Jazmyn cried.

"Mommy..." Cheri whispered, tugging on Jazmyn's shirt sleeve.

"Not now, honey," Jazmyn whispered sharply, and Cheri was quiet. "It was...He said that he loved me. You were on patrol, it was raining, he gave me a ride home, and he said that he loved me. And then he kissed me. And...Yeah. But...It wasn't...He came prepared-"

"Yeah. Sure. Kaden Redwood was 'prepared.' That'd be the day, Jazz," Seth said sarcastically.

"I'm not lying, okay? Seth, believe me, please! She's yours, okay? I know she's yours!" Jazmyn looked helplessly into his eyes, trying to get him to melt. He seemed to a little bit, but he was still stubborn as a bull.

"I still don't...I can't believe it," he said quietly. He turned away.

"Then...Then...We'll...We'll go to professionals about it," she finally blurted. A second later, she regretted it.

_Dammit, Jazz!_

"What do you mean?"

"We can get a paternity test," she said quietly, fidgeting with her hands. Seth laughed once.

"You're being serious."

"I just want you to believe me, is all. I can get it scheduled for next Monday. If you want."

It was quiet for a little bit. Cheri looked at the toes of her shoes, at her stuffed bunny rabbit, then up at the strange man that had snatched her away from the water. He looked at her and she buried her face into her mother's pant leg, peeking out a little bit.

After what had seemed like a thousand years, Seth sighed and nodded once.

"Okay."

0000000000000000000000

He was down to eight.

Seth was down to eight cigarettes, and he was starting to get a little anxious. A week ago, if he were in this situation, he'd be down to begging people for money with a Styrofoam cup in his hands.

"Spare change?" he'd ask quietly. "Please."

At the end of the day, he'd be lucky to have more than ten dollars. And that was supposed to be for food _and_ his needed tobacco fix. Sometimes, he even went as far as to steal from people as they weren't looking.

Of course, he never got caught.

He looked up at the ceiling of his room, counting the stars on his ceiling. There was still the same number. Forty-two. One was starting to peal, though.

He smiled to himself at the familiarity of it all, happy that his family had left it the same even after three years.

"Seth! Come downstairs! I hope you're dressed!" Sue called. Without a word, Seth stood up and walked down the stairs. He was in a t-shirt and a pair of old jeans, his hair sticking up in the front. It didn't matter, though. Why would he need to brush his hair, anyway? His mother smiled at him when he appeared, as did everyone else. He frowned.

"When'd you all get here?" he asked, confused.

"A while ago," Embry smirked at him.

"..._Why_ are you here?"

"You really forgot what today was, didn't you?" Jacob laughed once.

"It's Friday."

"No. It's your _birth_day, sweetie! You're eighteen!" Sue exclaimed. She hugged him, and then pulled away to look into his eyes with a small sigh. "We were all so...Worried and scared that...You wouldn't be here with us to celebrate...Really, _any_ of your birthdays after you left. But now...You're home, and I couldn't ask for anything better." She hugged him again.

"O-oh. Umm, thanks," Seth smiled a little bit.

"I made cake. Oh, and brownies. And just a whole lot of food!" Emily squealed, skipping to the dining room table, and gesturing to the plethora of food on the wooden surface. "All your favorites. These...Are your favorites, right?"

"Thanks, Em," Seth smiled at her, too.

"And we have gifts, Baby Bro! This one is from Mom and me. Open it," Leah said, brushing her hair behind her ear. She handed him a wrapped box, and Seth took it from her slowly. He carefully took off the colorful paper, the ripping sound the only noise in the room.

Letting the paper fall to the floor, he opened up the box, revealing a picture and a necklace. Taking out the photo frame, he stared down at it with narrowed eyes.

_Dad_, he thought. It was Harry. And him. Their first fishing trip together when Seth was six. Little Seth Clearwater sported a toothless grin, holding a long fishing rod. Harry was helping him reel in a catch from the lake a few mile's drive from the house.

"...Thanks. Guys," he said quietly. "Really."

"And there's something else, too." Leah took the picture and held it against her small frame, waiting for Seth to take out the other gift in the box. He pulled out a silvery chain.

"He wanted you to have it," Sue said tenderly. "He told me. Now's a better time than any to give it to you."

The box fell from Seth's hands as he lifted the chain up and stared at it.

"Oh," was all he could say to not show how choked up he was getting. He cleared his throat and sighed. "Um. Ah, thanks, guys. For real. I'm, ah, they're...They're nice."

Leah smiled at him, then wrapped one of her bony arms around his neck, kissing his cheek.

"So, I'm kind of hungry. Anyone else?" Jared smiled and looked around. A chorus of delighted agreements went up throughout the house, and food was soon being passed around.

Leah stared at the food, disgusted by it. She didn't eat. She wouldn't even allow one tiny spoonful to pass her lips. She sipped on a Diet Coke, looking down at her ruby red fingernails.

"You haven't eaten anything all day," Jacob said to her, sitting down with two heaping plates of food.

_It's not going to hurt you, Leah, _her inner-self told her. She shook the thought out of her head.

"I'm not hungry," she told Jacob, shaking her head back and forth. She moved away from him a little bit.

"Come on, Leah. I'm worried about you," he said, knitting his brows together. "At least eat half of it."

"I'm _fine_, Jacob," she said, gritting her teeth.

"Leah-"

"I'm _fine_! Okay?" she yelled. "I mean, gol_ly_, do have to be on my back, like, every fucking second of the day?" She stood up and stomped into the kitchen, angry. She gripped the counter and breathed slowly in and out, calming herself.

She stared at a big bowl of salad by the sink, licking her lips longingly. She shook her head vigorously, telling herself that she wouldn't do it.

_Not now_, she thought to herself. But suddenly, she couldn't help herself, and she was reaching for it. She glanced behind her, and, seeing no one, she took the bowl and went up to her old room through the staircase in the kitchen.

Leah ate the whole bowl of salad alone in her room, one ear on the door, listening for people. She stuffed her face as if it would be her last meal, dropping lettuce and bits of dressing on the floor. The ranch covered her cheeks and parts of the top of her blouse, but she ignored it. It wasn't until the bowl was done that she realized what she was doing.  
After hiding the bowl, she was leaning over the toilet, two fingers down her throat.  
This was the worst part. She hated this part. But it had to be done.  
Tears streamed down her cheeks as she vomited everything that she ate. Sticking her fingers down her throat again, she jerked forward, and her whole lunch poured into the toilet. She coughed and gagged, all the while still crying.  
_ You're a bad, bad girl, Leah, _ she thought, scolding herself mentally. When she was finished, she washed her hands and her mouth, also wiping her face free of filthy bile and tears.  
Staring at her bony reflection in the mirror, she felt her eyes well up again, and she staggered back against the wall, clamping her hand over her mouth.  
_ Why, Lee? _she asked herself. _Why are you doing this?_  
She sniffed and roughly wiped her eyes.  
It wasn't just to be _thin_. Sure, it had been that way, like, two years ago. But it was so much deeper than that now. It was almost as if...every time she tried to stop, she just couldn't. And she kept doing it. No matter how much she hated it.  
She opened the door and closed it with both hands behind her, then walked back down the kitchen staircase.  
Folding her arms over herself, she went into the family room, sitting down closely to Jacob. She laid her head on his shoulder, not saying anything. It was apology enough. He smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her, kissing her head softly. Leah smiled grimly and sighed, taking one of his hands into both of hers. She kissed the his knuckles one by one, cuddling closer to him, and squeezing his hand tighter.

She didn't want anyone to know, especially Jacob. She felt so bad, and disgusting about herself...No one could ever know. But she felt that she needed comfort at that moment, and Jacob could provide that for her. He was good at that.

Seth stared down at the necklace in his hands, running fingers up and down each of the individual links of the chain. He remembered his father wearing this; he didn't even remember a time when Harry had it off.

_Was he wearing it that day-_

Seth stopped the thought before it let loose in his mind. He was still learning not to remind himself so much of his father, and it was proving to be a hard thing to do. Seth had said countless times that he was over it - over the killing of Harry Clearwater. But now? He wasn't so sure.

Staring down at his favorite piece of jewelry made all of his old feelings of guilt come back, and he gripped it tighter. So tight, that his knuckles turned white. He let go suddenly, and stood up, walking into the bathroom.

Keeping an eye on himself in the mirror, he put on the chain...And smirked. The smirk turned into a smile, and then the smile into a full-out grin. He felt good with it on; like he was invincible. Like...he had no worries.

And, to be honest?

He kind of liked it.

He took out his pack of Marlboros, staring down at it for a long, long time. Then he left the bathroom, going into the kitchen and grabbing a pair of scissors from the drawer and a lighter. He walked back into the family room.

"Hey, Mom?" he said. "Guys?"

Everyone looked at him. He took out a cigarette and stuck one in his mouth, then took out the last seven, holding it in his hand. Dropping the box, he held up the scissors, and snipped them all, letting the butts fall to the floor.

"I thought that...It'd be nice. To stop. For you, Mum."

"Seth..." Sue breathed.

"This, is, umm. My last one. I'm gonna use it now. Because, well, you know. It's my last one. Forever," he laughed once and smiled at her. She hugged him.

"I'm so proud of you!" she cried. He hugged her back, then pulled away, holding up the lighter with a small smile. He started for the door, then stopped, narrowing his eyes a little bit. He turned back around, going back to the couch where he'd thrown the scissors. Taking the cigarette out of his mouth, he sighed and snipped it.

A collective cheer went up through the house and Sue jumped on Seth, hugging him tightly.

"I'm probably gonna regret that later," he sighed. His mother laughed, sniffing back a few tears. She kissed his cheek and hugged him even tighter.

"I support you all the way. You're not alone in this, kiddo," she whispered into his ear. He kissed her cheek and hugged her back.

"Yeah," he said quietly. Over her shoulder, he looked at the mess on the floor, and took in a deep sigh.

_What the fuck did I _do_? _

0000000000000000000000000

"Headache?"

"Yeah."

"Here," Sue said, handing her son a glass of water. He took a sip and sat back in his place on the couch, closing his eyes. "Just keep drinking water, okay?"

"I'm not thirsty, though."

"Just do it. The worst thing you can do when you have a headache is to not drink water."

"I'll remember that," Seth said quietly, setting the glass down on the coffee table. He placed his head in his hands and groaned. "If I don't have one in the next three seconds, I will explode," he muttered. Sue smiled sadly.

"As long as you explode quietly. I'm babysitting this afternoon. Oh, and-"

"Crap!" Seth cried, shooting up. He had forgotten about the appointment with Jazmyn and Cheri. "Mom, I'm taking the truck."

"Where are you going?"

"If it goes well, I'll tell you later." He grabbed the keys and ran out the door.

Meanwhile, in the hospital parking lot, Jazmyn sat in her car, tapping her fingers on the steering wheel as Nathanial briefed her over and over again of his Plan.

"I got it, Nat. Okay? Gosh," Jazmyn rolled her eyes. "You know you make me nervous every time you keep explaining it to me."

"I know," Nathanial smiled at her. He looked out the window, narrowing his eyes. "Your wolf boy is here." Jazmyn's head whipped to the left window, where she saw Seth's truck pull up a few spaces from her car. Her heart started to speed up, and she ran her hands through her hair in an effort to make it look nice. Nathanial rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything.

"Come on, Cheri," Jazmyn said, getting out of the car. She smoothed out her sweater, and took her daughter's hand. "Seth, hi!" she said. Nathanial got in to the other side of the car and sped off, Seth raising an eyebrow at him. Jazmyn moved so that she was in his line of sight and grinned.

"Are you ready?" she asked. Seth nodded. "How are you?" They were walking into the hospital now, and were soon engulfed by the smell of antiseptic and orange juice. Little Cheri hopped on the black tiles, 'avoiding the lava'.

"Oh, no, Horton! Lava!" she squealed, hopping onto another black square. "_Whew_! That was a close one, huh, Horton?"

Seth found himself staring down at her, his eyes narrowed slightly. He looked away when he felt Jazmyn's eyes on him, though.

"Right down this hallway. To Dr. Burke's office. I phoned him and he said we could go right in."

"Okay," Seth sighed. His head still hurt a little bit.

In the office, Cheri and Seth sat down next to each other. They watched as the doctor held up a cotton swab in front of the little girl's face. She hugged her bunny a little tighter, staring the old man dead in the eyes.

"Alright, honey. I'm gonna take this magic wand and wave it around your mouth to cast a spell over all the bad creatures. They'll fall right asleep, and they won't bother you anymore. We don't want the bad creatures to bother us, do we?" he asked her. Cheri shook her head. "Good girl. Okay, now open your mouth big, got it? Big and wide for me and my magic wand."

Obediently, Cheri opened her mouth, and the doctor swabbed the inside of her cheeks with a cotton swab. Seth did the same for himself, placing it into a plastic bag when he was done.

"Hocus pocus! Look at that, they're all fast _asleep_!" Dr. Burke cried excitedly. Cheri grinned.

"'Night, bad creatures! 'Night, 'night _forever_!"

"Good girl, good girl," Dr. Burke smiled, placing the swab into a plastic bag. He gave the little girl a star sticker, helping her down from the bench. She skipped to the door, singing something about 'magic and fairies.'

"I can call you of the results by the end of the week," Dr. Burke smiled at Jazmyn and Seth.

"Great. Thank you! Cher, what do you say?"

"Thank you!" she called, pulling open the door. She skipped out, Jazmyn and Seth behind her. Seth placed his hands in his pockets, closing his eyes for a second. He opened them again when Jazmyn said his name.

"Lunch? Just the three of us. We can go to my place," she said. "It's not that far from here, actually."

"Umm...I have, uh, I have to work. At the diner, actually," he said.

"Oh." Jazmyn tried not to show her hurt. She began walking away.

"But Jazz?" Seth called. She turned to face him, wiping her hair out of her eyes. He smiled before looking down. "Maybe I can...Hang around? Maybe an hour, or so." He shrugged, hiding his grin. Jazmyn sighed contentedly and grinned wide at him.

"I know a really great place..."

0000000000000000000000000000 

Pancakes.

Eggs. Extra cheesy.

Home fries. Extra large helping. Lots of ketchup.

Orange juice.

Coffee. Extra cream.

Leah stared down at the plethora of food, her black hair hiding her face. The diner was almost completely empty aside from a man finishing off a glass of orange juice. He set money down on the bar and stood, the chime on the door jingling as he left.

Empty.

"Leah I need to run. Carson and Emma are in the back doing dishes, and...You haven't even touched your food."

"I'm about to eat now. I was busy reading," Leah said hurriedly, picking up her fork. Sue smiled and nodded. After a quick kiss to her daughter's head, she was off.

Leah glanced around the restaurant, double checking the little _closed _sign on the door. Looking back at her food, she took a bite out of her pancakes. Soon, she was gulping down another. And then another.

She was barely even tasting the food by now, eggs and home fries filled her mouth; making her cheeks puff out. She swallowed hard and drank the whole glass of orange juice in three gulps. She set the cup down and stared at her almost empty plate.

Leah started in on her coffee, just as Carson walked into the room.

"Wow, you sure were hungry, weren't you?" he laughed once, cleaning up the bar counter. Leah froze, the her mouth still in the coffee cup. She hastily reached for a napkin, wiping her face. Then, as quickly as she could, she darted out of the diner.

Leah walked down the road quickly, towards her house. No one was home. She knew it. Jacob would be at work by this time.

She went in through the door, slamming it behind her. Then she rushed into the bathroom, sticking her finger down her throat. She gripped the toilet rim with one hand, squeezing her eyes shut and leaning forward.

Jacob opened the door to the house, shutting it behind him.

"Leah, I'm-" he stopped, hearing someone in the bathroom. "Lee?" he called. Jacob hurried down the hallway, arriving in the bathroom. "Leah."

If she heard her name, she didn't show it. She kept on going, pushing hard on her stomach. Coughing a few times, she stood up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand and flushing the toilet.

"Leah," Jacob narrowed his eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," Leah cleared her throat and turned on the water in the sink.

"You were making yourself puke," he said quietly.

"Oh. Umm..." Leah began washing her hands. "I was just feeling really nauseous. I wanted it to be done with. I'm fine now."

Quiet. She turned the water off and dried her hands.

"You're...Sure...?" he raised his eyebrows.

"Positive. Now, come on. We'll be late for Sam and Emily's." Leah grinned at him and went into the kitchen, grabbing a Coke out of the refrigerator. With a sigh, she closed the door.

That had been _too _close. She barely got out of that one with her life.

_Damn, I'm a good liar_, she smiled to herself.

At Sam and Emily's, the company was lively as always. Leah smiled and laughed with her imprinter, sipping on her soda now and then. When it was halfway finished, she kissed Jacob's cheek.

"I gotta go to the bathroom," she smiled at him.

"Okay. Hurry back," he said to her.

Leah quietly made her way to the restroom, throwing away her can. As quietly as she could, she made herself vomit again. She had to say, she was getting better at keeping herself quiet. Especially in a house full of super-hearing werewolves. The sound of the faucet and the toilet flushing masked the noise of retching, and she was able to get away with it scotch-free.

Leaving the bathroom, though, Leah felt different. Dizzy. Unbalanced.

When she opened the door, a chorus of laughter shot through the air, hurting her ears. She staggered into the family room, feeling her knees go weak under her.

Paul's smirk and then look of panic was the last thing she saw before she fell, hard, onto the floor.

"Leah!" Jacob cried, hopping off the couch. She closed her eyes, her face going pale. Everyone stood up as he ran to her, picking her head carefully off of the floor. "Can you hear me? Lee!" He shook her.

The women in the room exchanged looks as Jacob carefully set her on the couch. He looked worried for her, clutching her limp hand into his. She looked so dead, and her body was cold against his fiery hot skin. This had to be one of the scariest moments of his life at that moment.

"Guys, give her some space!" Sam ordered. That's when Leah squeezed her eyes tight, and then they shot open. She sat up quickly, clapping a hand on her head.

"Ah! Oh, _fuck_, what happened?!" she cried. She tried to move, but Jacob held her back.

"You passed out, like, right in front of us!" he explained. "You hit the ground so hard."

"Oh. Sorry," Leah murmured. She closed her eyes for a second, brushing her hair out of her face. Emily hurried to get her a glass of water, everyone else staring worriedly at their friend. She brushed it off as no big deal, but everyone said otherwise.

"Leah," Rachel hissed, flashing her eyes at her.

"Shut up, Rachel," Leah whispered sharply back.

"No. No, no, no. I'm not keeping it a secret anymore. You need to tell everyone _exactly_ why you fainted. Ex_actly_, Leah."

Silence.

Leah looked Jacob deep in his eyes. She glanced at everyone else and stood up, pacing the room.

"Uhh...I don't know...Umm..." she sniffed, trying to hold back tears. She looked at Rachel, who only nodded. "I, uh. I..." she trailed off, fidgeting with her hands and looking at Jacob. "I..." She made a gesture like she was throwing up. "Puke. Sometimes. After I eat," she said. "And, umm...I didn't want everyone to know. But Rach...She caught me one time. And I swore her to secrecy after that. Yeah." Leah sniffed again, looking down.

"So you're like those girls we used to make fun of? Back then?" Seth asked quietly.

"But I-"

"Leah! Do you know how...How?" Jacob growled, standing up and pacing back and forth. He was angry at himself for missing it. Angry at her for lying to him earlier. Just angry at...At everything. "Lee...Why? Just...I mean, you looked fine-"

"It's not a_bout_ how I look. I mean...I did it once. Before. Because I thought I didn't look good, but now...Now..." she started to cry, plopping down on the couch, and covering her head with her hands. "It's...It's...I hate it so much! But I can't stop. I can't stop it, guys! No matter how hard I try. You know my hair's falling out? Like a lot. And I...There was...There was blood in it the last time I..." she sniffed. "It scares me so much, but I can't stop. I can't...I just..." she sighed roughly, sniffing.

"Well you have to. Leah, we're going to get you help," Sue said, sitting next to her.

"No. No, no, no. I'm not getting help."

"You have no say in this," Jacob said, kneeling in front of her.

"But it's not a_bout_ you. Okay? Any of you! It's about-"

"Leah, this is about me just as much as it's about you-" Jacob was cut off by Leah screaming as loud as she could in his face. He shut up.

"It's not about you, it's not ABOUT YOU!" she screeched. "It's about _me_. Okay? _Me_! For once can it not be about anyone else? It's...M-me...It's us, it's Daddy, it's Seth...! It's just...I can't take it anymore, and I...I can't fucking _take it anymore_!" she screamed. "Me, Jake. _Me_," she whispered, her voice raspy. "For once...It's _me_."

Jacob's face was pained by her outburst. He hated seeing her like this. Usually, she was never so open like she was now around everyone. He was used to seeing her cry so much, but that didn't mean it got easier every time.

He tried to hug her, but she shook her head.

"No. Just...Not..." She broke down again, falling into his open arms. For the first time, Jacob realized how thin she actually was. He could feel every rib, every _bone_ in her body. It was like hugging a skeleton.

He tried not to break. But it was hard.

She gripped his shirt tighter into her fists.

"Jacob," she whispered. "I'm so scared."

"Lee, everyone's going to help you through this. Okay? Everyone will-"

"No." She sniffed. "I don't know if I...If I..." She broke down crying again. "I'm such a bad person, guys. I'm a horrible person," she whispered, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Leah-"

"Jake..." she sniffed again, leaning in close to his ear to whisper, "I think I might be pregnant."

**ANNNDDDD there it is! I hope that you guys liked this chapter...Remember to review!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

"You smell like dog," Casey said, scrunching up her nose. Jazmyn rolled her eyes. "Like...A lot."

"Well you're being annoying. Like...A lot."

"Take a shower, Jazz," David said flatly, picking up Cheri. She laid her head on his shoulder.

"Fine." Jazmyn stomped up the stairs, fuming. When she got to the top, though, she felt happiness. Her day had gone so beautifully well. She spent it with Seth, and it was almost as if nothing had happened. They laughed and talked together, and even took a walk down the beach with Cheri hopping and skipping in front of them. Seth had reached for her hand, and Jazmyn reached for his. But when their fingers touched, he pulled away suddenly, looking in the opposite direction.

"I have to go," he said. "My shift."

And then he walked the other direction, not looking back.

This thought brought back her unhappy mood. They were just starting to get close to each other again, and now...Ugh. He was being difficult.

In the shower, she stood under the piping hot water, her eyes closed. She ran her hands through her hair, turning her face up to the showerhead. Being under it brought back so many memories from years ago. How Seth and her would stand under the shower together. He'd cradle her in his arms, and the walls would steam up. They'd stay in there forever, just kissing and enjoying each other's company.

She missed that.

But it was her fault that they didn't have that same chemistry like before.

_Shut. Up. Gosh._

Her body dried and dressed again sometime later, she went back downstairs. Cheri was napping on the couch, and Nathanial was sitting next to her. He twirled a piece of her curly black hair in his fingers, humming a lullaby and reading _The Shining._

"Can you be anymore creepy?" she asked with an eye roll. Nathanial smiled, not looking up.

"This is a great book, Jazzy," he said simply. He flipped the page, then went back to twirling Cheri's hair around.

"Can you watch her for a while? I'm going to Gramma's," Jazmyn announced, going into the kitchen for the keys.

"I'd tell you to send her my love, but-"

"You're dead. I know. Peace out." She leaned down and kissed her daughter's temple, then left.

She drove away from the mansion to La Push, where Miss Pocket still stayed in the charming little house on Elmer Road. After pulling into the driveway, she got out and walked in through the front door without knocking.

"Hey, Gramma," she called, shutting the door behind her. It got quiet. Heaven looked down, Embry too. Miss Pocket smiled and stood up, hugging her granddaughter.

"Hey, honey! We were just having a nice little chat. Sit down," she grinned wider. "I'll just go get the cookies out of the oven." That left Jazmyn alone in a room with her cousin and her imprint.

_Awkward turtle._

"So, uh...How're things?" Jazmyn asked, smiling a little.

"Fine."

"Good."

_And...Silence._

"Oh. Good. Good. How's the wolf thing going, Embry?"

Quiet.

_Answer me._

He smiled, looking at her.

"You remembered."

"Umm...What?"

"You remembered my name, Jazz."

"Oh. I did, didn't I?" she giggled. Heaven smiled at her, too, brushing her hair out of her eyes. And just like that, they were back to the Three-Years-Ago Them. Talking and laughing like they used to. Jazmyn learned that Heaven had skipped a grade and was a junior instead of a sophomore.

Embry moved out of his parent's house and rented a small cottage from some old family friends by the beach. He went to the community college in Forks, and was set to graduate next year.

"I sure did miss a lot, didn't I?" Jazmyn asked, eating a cookie from the plate Miss Pocket had set down. Heaven nodded with a smile.

"Yeah. A whole butt load," she laughed.

"Where are you staying, Jazmyn?" Miss Pocket asked with a small frown.

"You didn't know? Mom and Dad own a house here. I'm staying there with Cheri," she answered. The part about her mother and father owning a house was a lie, but the one about Cheri wasn't. Well...Completely.

I mean what was she supposed to say?

_Oh, yeah. I share the house with four other vampires planning to kill you guys. Oh, and did I mention that I was helping them? By becoming your friend again so they won't suspect anything? I didn't? Well, it's in the open air now! _

But that'd be saying too much.

"Well, you children can mingle here some more if you want. I have a small gathering to attend. I'll be seeing you!" she grinned, kissing Jazmyn and Heaven's heads. After grabbing the keys for Harvey and her purse, she was out the door.

"I saw you with Seth earlier today," Embry said after the door closed. Heaven raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah."

"He seemed happy."

"Mhm." Jazmyn nodded with a grin. "Guys, I really think he's forgiven me. I mean, he sees it. That Cheri's his, too."

"Really?" Heaven frowned.

"Yeah. He told me," Jazmyn lied.

_Wow, you're just full of lies today._

"Hm," Embry smiled a little bit. "It's nice to have the Kid back. It was weird when he was gone."

"I know. And it's my fault. You know, I feel guilty every day for what I did to him," Jazmyn sighed, looking at her hands.

"And you ought to. It really hurt him, Jazz," Embry said softly. "Especially when he had to find out from Kaden himself."

"Yeah. That's worse than if you would've told him you were pregnant through a text," Heaven added.

"But I didn't. I told him to his face."

"Yeah," Embry nodded. He smiled. "I'm happy you're back, too, honestly."

"Really?" Jazmyn grinned, brushing her hair away from her face.

"Yeah. I mean...It was weird, not hearing you cuss left and right. Seeing you stomp your foot when you didn't get your way," he answered, his smile growing.

"Oh. Well. Fuck." Jazmyn frowned, crossing her arms. Then she slammed the ground with her foot. "Better?"

"Much. Thanks," Embry laughed. Jazmyn started to laugh with him, feeling like her old self again. Ever since she had been with Nathanial and the others, it felt as if her life was controlled. Like...She was chained to them, or something.

Now that she was back in La Push, she felt...Free, almost. Not entirely. But like she was on parole, or something. Yeah. Parole.

Not free, but not imprisoned, either.

0000000000000000000000000

Jacob pushed the tray of food an inch closer to Leah. Her jaw tightened, and she looked away, folding her arms over herself.

"Leah. Eat."

"No," she answered for the fourth time. Jacob sighed gruffly and stood up off the bedside chair.

"I'm getting coffee. You-"

"No."

He left the room, shutting the door softly behind him. After leaning on it for a second, he pushed himself off, heading towards the kitchen. As he was making himself a cup of coffee, the door opened. He turned to see his Pack, smiling at him. Their imprints followed, sitting down at the kitchen table. They all grinned.

"How's she?" Sam asked, pulling Emily a little tighter. Jacob sat down with a sigh, his face falling into his hands.

"She's not pregnant, thank the Lord. The doctor called, and the test came back negative. But now she's not eating. And I've been trying to get her to for the past three hours."

"You're doing your best, bro," Jared smiled at him.

"I feel helpless," Jacob replied truthfully, taking a seat next to his sister.

Rachel wrapped an arm around him. "Jake-"

"Rach...She's my imprint. My fiancé, Rach. You couldn't have told me?" he asked, hurt.

"I know, I...I don't know why I kept it a secret. It was just, well...She's one of my best friends, you know? I didn't want to hurt her."

"But she was hurting herself," Jacob muttered. "And I let her do it. Everything she told me...I was so..." he growled. "Damn _stupid _to believe it. Right here in the fucking..." he growled a little louder, starting to shake some. "The-the house!"

"Jake..." Kim sighed, trailing off. She didn't know what to say.

"I hate this," he muttered.

"Jacob, the best you can do for her now is be there to support her through everything. It'll be hard at first, but you'll get through it. The both of you," Emily said. With another gruff sigh, Jacob finally nodded. It got quiet again as the air filled with the sound of slippers shuffling against the hardwood floor.

Leah carried an empty tray, holding it out to Jacob.

"It's finished," she said quietly. Jacob looked up from his hands, and, seeing the missing food, he smiled at her. But it faded. Leah shook her head, making her fiancé smile again. The Pack and imprints cheered silently, watching Leah put the tray into the sink. She leaned against it, crossing her arms over herself. She shook her head again.

"I don't think I can-"

"Leah. You _can_. You _will_," Jacob stood up, grasping her hands in his. Tears sprung to her eyes and shook her head even more.

"You don't get it. You don't get it...I..." She took in a deep breath. "I only ate 'cause you were gone. But I ate really fast, and..." she bit her lip. "I'm going back to the room," she said.

"No. Stay here," Kim stood up. "Talk with us." Leah swallowed, shaking her head.

"I have to go. Do something," she said, backing up.

"No you don't. You're fine. Sit with us," Jacob tugged on her hands. "Come on."

"No! No..." Leah shook her head more vigorously.

"Why? What's the reason now? Tell me," her imprint growled.

"It's not important. You guys wouldn't care."

"I care about anything that has to do with you, Lee. We all do."

"Just...Just let me go."

"No."

"_Jacob_."

"_No_, Leah. If you need to do something, you can tell us. We'll do it together then."

"You don't want to do this, it's..." Leah bit her lip.

"What?"

Silence. Leah sighed.

"I need to puke, okay?" she finally exclaimed, exasperated. "I drank some-"

"Leah, _no_," Jacob growled. He moved away from her, his hands flying to his head. He closed his eyes. "Why are you doing this to yourself?" he asked, his eyes stinging.

"I don't know..." Leah said, swallowing. She began to move dishes out of the sink and onto the counter. She then gripped the rim tightly after turning the hot water all the way up.

"Don't you dare...!" Jacob growled. He started for her, but Sam held him back, afraid he'd phase.

"Go for a run," he whispered to him. It wasn't a command, though, and Jacob shook his head.

"I need to stay here," he growled. Kim squeezed her eyes shut and left the room, Jared following her.

"I don't want you here," Leah spat. She gripped the sink so tight, her knuckles turned white as the tile in the bathroom. "Leave, I'm disgusting," she hissed.

"Leah, no," Jacob said. "Leah!"

"Don't tell me _what to do_! It's my house, and I can decide what I will and won't do!" Leah yelled. She swallowed hard, squeezing her eyes shut as a wave of nausea washed over her body.

"It's _our _house!" Jacob struggled against Sam's grasp, but his Alpha held him tighter. "It's _our _house, and we decide _together _what we will and won't do, Leah! But this...You can't keep doing this to yourself!" he yelled. A tear broke free from his eye, and he let it fall.

"Quit telling me what to do," Leah hissed. She retched twice before ducking her head deep into the sink. Jacob covered his ears and turned away.

Leah vomited her every emotion and feeling into that sink, crying the whole time. She hated it, she really did. But she couldn't stop.

She wouldn't stop.

She coughed a few times and then stood up. Leah pushed her hand on her stomach and stuck two fingers into her mouth. Suddenly she was being pulled back, and she didn't like that. She screamed and kicked.

"Stop! Stop, you're ruining it!" she screeched. She was let go, and raced back to the sink. She sniffed and wiped her hair out of her face, turning the water to cold. She rinsed out her mouth, then turned off the water fully. Turning around, she kept her eyes cast to the hardwood flooring before looking at Jacob.

"I love you," she said quietly, leaning in to kiss his cheek. He moved away, turning from her. He gripped the table chair tightly, shaking. Leah only walked out of the kitchen, and sat down at the couch, pulling her legs up to her knees.

She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around them. Leah knew how thin she was. It's the reason her clothes were always so big on her. With her arms around herself, she felt as if she could wrap them twice around her bony body, and still have some slack left.

She could feel every rib, every bone. It seemed as if she was a part of the walking dead every day, living like this. And it hurt. She felt weaker and weaker with every passing moment. Even...Lifting a cup of water off of a surface seemed to make her body ache with fatigue.

Leah closed her eyes slowly, sinking into the sound of her heart pounding vigorously against her chest. She placed a bony hand on it, frowning a little bit.

"My heart's pounding really fast," she slurred tiredly. "That's scary." She looked towards the kitchen, where Jacob was standing in the doorway. They met each other's eyes, until Jacob finally looked away. "Jakey," Leah squeaked, standing up. Her hand flew to her head, and she fell back onto the couch. He rushed to her side, carefully cradling her in his warm arms.

It was quiet for a second, the Pack trying to make some sense of what had happened, and Jacob and Leah sitting together on the couch. Suddenly, Leah's small, weak voice broke through the silence.

"I...I want help," she said quietly, looking into her imprint's eyes. He kissed the top of her head, letting it linger. Holding her a little closer, he rocked her back and forth.

"I'm with you every step of the way, babe," he whispered.

Leah smiled.

00000000000000000000000

"Mmm...Okay. Two single scoops. One chocolate chip cookie dough, and the other...Pink bubblegum," Jazmyn said, pointing to the ice creams she wanted. Seth's eyes widened.

"What? No way, those two together is like mixing a joint with a cup of water."

"Yeah, sure."

"If you're gonna have pink bubblegum, you gotta have it with _cotton candy_! _Duh_, Jazmyn!"

"_Duh_, Jazzy-men!"

"Ha! Kid agrees with me. Up top, Cher," Seth held out his hand for Cheri to high five. Jazmyn rolled her eyes, dipping her spoon into the pink side of her ice cream cup. Seth smiled, eating the cherry off the top of his sundae. They took a seat outside at a table.

"Horton, Mommy says that this flavors is the _best_. So we gotta try it. Kay? One, two...Three!" She ate a spoonful of her pink bubblegum ice cream, a smile gracing her little face. "Three is my number! And this is good! It's so super good, Mommy!"

"Glad you like it, Cherry-Berry." Jazmyn smiled tenderly at her daughter as she continued eating her ice cream happily. She caught Seth staring at her, too, a small smile on his face. She cleared her throat, making him look at her.

"So...Four days, huh? How's it feel not smoking?" she asked.

"Weird. I made Mom hide the lighters in the house, though. Seeing those everywhere I went was making me anxious."

"What's ankles-shit?" Cheri asked, looking up at Seth with a pink-stained face. Jazmyn rolled her eyes, and Seth laughed. He reached for a napkin, cleaning her face off.

"_Anxious_, Cheri. It's like...Having an itch. But you can't quite scratch it," he explained. "Oh, and 'shit' is a bad word. Don't say it, kiddo."

"Mommy says it. She says it all the time," Cheri cocked her head to the side. Seth smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"How many times would you think she says it?"

"Like...A gazillion-thousand times!"

"So that means that you, _Jazzy-men_, owe me a gazillion-thousand dollars," Seth grinned at Jazmyn.

"How about we start from _one_."

"That's no fair!" Cheri pouted.

"Yeah. No fair, Jazz," Seth pouted, too.

"Two?"

Cheri nodded.

"Okay! Two is many more times than one!"

"Yes, yes. _Many _more times, Jazz." Seth held out his hand, where Jazmyn placed two dollars into it. He grinned at her.

Later, the three were walking to Seth's house. Cheri ran ahead, skipping and running off her sugar high. Jazmyn and Seth talked and laughed about everything, finding anything that crossed their path just the funniest thing ever. It was like magic, Jazmyn thought. It felt like magic.

When Jazmyn suddenly squealed, jumping up and hugging Seth, the spark immediately fizzed out. He pushed her off gently, looking down. Her shoulders slumped, and she rubbed her arm shyly.

"_Dammit, Jazz_," she muttered to herself.

"So...Tomorrow's the big reveal, yeah?" Seth asked, scratching the back of his head. He glanced at Cheri, who was twirling around his front lawn.

"Oh. Yeah. Burke's gonna call me. I'll come with you when I have the news."

"Okay. Well, uh...I'm gonna go. Now," Seth stammered, backing up. Jazmyn bit her lip with a nod.

"Come on, Cheri," she called.

"Here I am, Mommy! Bye!" she giggled, waving to Seth. He watched the two walk down towards the beach, feeling a familiar tug on his chest. He was starting to have more feelings for her again. And being a wolf didn't help at all to keep the imprint pulls down to a minimum.

Honestly, he liked being with her again. It was like old times. Before...Everything.

When it was just them. And when they loved each other.

But he still does. Love her, I mean.

Like...A lot.

But deep inside, he hated her, too. For being unfaithful to him. But...It's what's expected, right?

Jazmyn Anderson was a feisty little thing. There was no _way _she was a person that could be tie down to just one guy; and it showed. The way she looked, the way she talked...The way she acted around Seth. Back...Then.

It was as if she controlled him...Like she controlled the others, too. Never called them by their names, the flirting...

But he liked that. He liked that a lot. It was...It was her. Jazmyn.

_My Jazz..._

Seth thought about her for forty-two minutes. He knew. He kept count on the wall clock above the entertainment center in the living room. He thought about how they were back when they were fifteen, and how they were now. It seemed like they were getting to know each other again.

But...At the slightest touch from her, Seth would freak out. He could help it, he just did. Her touch brought back such...Intimately close memories for him, and then he'd think about what she and Kaden had done. And he'd, just...Freak out. It was like his body was telling him to reject her; to not ever let himself get too close to her again. Because she'd hurt him.

But deep down, he didn't want to believe that. He wanted to believe that she'd be there for him forever, like he'd thought when he was younger. He wanted to believe that they'd love each other like they did before, and that she wouldn't ever hurt him again.

But an even deeper part thought...Knew..._Believed_...That she'd do it again. Hurt him, I mean.

And to Seth, that was scary. He didn't want himself to think that, but he couldn't help it. He did. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

_Quit being paranoid, _Seth_, _he thought harshly. _You love her. Don't ruin it for yourself. _

He loved her...He really did. But he didn't really admit it to himself. And he decided that he wasn't going to until he found out of Cheri was really his or not.

Sighing, he stood up.

Forty-two minutes, he thought about her.

Forty-two minutes, and still ticking.

0000000000000000000000000000 

Embry was going to go crazy.

He imprinted on Heaven Anderson. She was a short, cute little girl with big blue eyes, and long, curly black hair. That was three years ago.

Now she wasn't as little. She'd grown a lot.

_A lot_, if you catch his drift.

Her eyes had gotten bluer, her hair even curlier. And she wasn't cute anymore. No, not even.

Now..._Now_ Heaven Anderson was _beautiful_. And Embry knew it. Everyone knew it.

It scared him. It scared him shitless.

Because...Because...

Because he was starting to have feelings for her. _More _feelings for her. He didn't just want to be her protector anymore. He wanted to be...More. Seeing her every day didn't help to keep those feelings pushed deep down inside of him.

"Em, I'm gonna put on some pajamas, okay?" Heaven smiled at him as he sat down on her bed. She took a pair of shorts and a t-shirt out of her drawer and turned around. "Don't look," she said.

"Then-" he stopped talking as she slid off her jeans and blouse. His eyes widened as he took in her body...and her butt.

_Holy shit, her butt..._

He licked his lips, watching her put her pajama shorts on. Then she put on her shirt, making Embry snap out of his trance. He whipped his head around towards her vanity, drumming his hands on his thighs.

_Smooth, Embry. Smooth._

Heaven climbed into her bed, laying her head down on his shoulder. She yawned, and smiled at him.

"I have patrol," he said quietly, giving her an apologetic look. She pouted.

"Aww...Sing me to sleep first," she sighed, closing her eyes. Embry hummed to her for a few seconds, playing with her hair. When a howl erupted out of the woods, he sighed and cursed under his breath. Heaven pouted again. "Bye."

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay? Get some sleep. Don't wanna ruin that pretty little face of yours," he smiled. Heaven nodded, watching him slide out of her bed. She closed her eyes as he pulled the blanket over her shoulders, and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. "I hope you studied for your test."

"Mhm," Heaven smiled mischievously, making Embry laugh. He shut out the light and climbed out of the window.

When he phased, he was immediately hit with Jacob's thoughts about Leah. It was painful, but Embry tried to push them aside.

_"Hey, man," _he said.

_"Oh. Hey. Sorry about that." _

_ "Nah, you're good. She okay?" _

_ "The leech doctor is with her," _Jacob thought slowly.

_"What?!" _

_ "He was the one they referred us to when we went to the hospital. Apparently, he's a physiatrist, too." _Jacob rolled his eyes. _"When patrol's over, I'm gonna go see her." _

_"Oh." _

_ "I'm scared." _The thought slipped out before Jacob could stop it. He sighed and pressed on. _"For her. I mean...She won't eat. At the time I was there with her. They're talking about putting a feeding tube in her." _

_ "Bro..." _

_ "It's...I don't wanna put her through that. But if she doesn't get any better by tonight, I'm not gonna stop them." _

_ "Man, that's intense. Is she talking to you about it at all?" _

_ "She's freaked out. She's scared that she's gonna get out of control if she eats. And when I try to get her to, she stares at it and shakes her head." _Jacob thought about Leah's skeletal face looking down at the tray of food on the hospital bed, how sad her eyes had looked.

_"If you wanna go see her, I could-"_

_ "No. I gotta-"_

_ "Jake. For real. Leah's more important than a leech." _

_ "Bro, I gotta-" _

_ "Jacob," _Embry thought sternly. _"Go. I'll howl for one of the guys." _

_ "...You're sure?" _

_ "Positive." _

_ "Thanks, Em." _

_ "What are bros for?" _Embry barked a laugh. Jacob gave him the best grin a wolf could, running off the other way. He phased and pulled on his clothes, jogging into his house for the keys to the car.

At the hospital, he signed in and walked to his imprint's room. He found her there. She was still staring at the food on the bed, her arms crossed. Her hair hid her face, and she was sniffing back tears.

Jacob sighed, feeling mad. He sat down, his head in his hands. Finally, he took up the tray and set it by the door. It was quiet in the room until Carlisle and a few doctors walked in. The leech sat down next to Jacob, smiling at Leah.

"How's my favorite patient?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood. Leah murmured an 'okay', but other than that she didn't say anything. Carlisle glanced at the untouched tray by the door, then at Jacob, who looked away.

"Do you want to be here for it?" he asked the wolf quietly. Jacob's hand shook, but he nodded. "Okay. Dr. Herron..." Carlisle stood up, murmuring to the doctors at the door.

Half an hour later, Leah was being held down by three nurses, as a feeding tube was placed into her body. Jacob stood by the door, trying to keep himself calm enough so as not to phase. He couldn't look at her. Her screams were already hard enough on his ears, but if he had to look at her thrashing around, he'd lose it.

When he couldn't take it anymore, he left the room, running straight into Seth and Sam. His Alpha gripped his shoulders.

"What's going on? What are they doing?"

"It's a feeding tube. She won't eat, so I-"

"They're hurting her!" Sam yelled. Jacob sighed, pushing him back.

"Just...Just leave them," he said quietly. Sam yanked away from his grasp, going into the waiting area. Jacob leaned against a wall, sliding down onto his butt. He sighed roughly again, his head falling into his hands.

Sometime later, Carlisle tapped his shoulder. Seth and Sam looked up, smelling the sickly sweet scent of the leech. They relaxed a little bit at the sight of the doctor vamp, though, standing up immediately.

"She's sleeping now, but we have the tube in her. When we start to see results, we can take it out. But she's going to need a lot of therapy for this, Jacob. Eating disorders...It takes a hard mental toll just as much as it does a physical one."

"Thanks," Jacob said, unable to look him in the eyes. "Can I go to her?"

"Sure."

Jacob went back into the room, sitting down at his imprint's bedside. He grabbed her hand in his, squeezing it tightly. Laying his head down on the bed, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

0000000000000000000000000000 

Jazmyn paced the living room, the phone held to her ear. Her daughter napped on the couch as Nathanial stroked her cheek with his thumb, continuing where he left off in _The Shining_. Casey and David had gone hunting, and Natalie was admiring herself in the bathroom mirror as she tried on the new clothes she'd gotten in Seattle.

The piano music cut off, and the room seemed to stand still. Nathanial looked up from his reading and stopped stroking his niece's cheek. He scrunched up his nose, listening in on the other end of the phone.

_"Miss Anderson, yes," _Dr. Burke's voice said. Jazmyn nodded, then rolled her eyes.

Of _course_, he couldn't see her. Duh.

_Shut up, bitch._

"Yeah. It's me," Jazmyn fingered her hair. Nathanial set down his book.

_"Yes. The results came back..." _


	16. Chapter 16

**Thanks for the reviews! I'm happy that I'm well into fifty right now, and I couldn't say that without the love and support from all you beautiful people out there! MWAH!**

**I know, I know...Most of you really don't like Jazmyn right now, and I don't blame you. I kind of hate her, too. But I hope that doesn't make you stop reading! Hold out til the end, okay?!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy Chapter Sixteen!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**

Chapter Sixteen

Jazmyn fidgeted on the front porch of the Uley's house, bouncing around.

She was gonna puke.

_No, shut up. That's just butterflies._

Rephrase that. She was gonna puke butterflies.

_Shut up, and ring the bell._

After a quick kiss to Cheri's hand, she rang the bell to the Uley's house. The door opened a second later, and she grinned. Paul stared at her.

"I know Seth's here. Sue told me," she said, kissing her daughter's hand again. Said wolf stood up from his place on the couch and came to the door. Jazmyn walked in, grinning. She picked up her daughter, planting a kiss on her head.

Pushing the twinge of guilt she felt way down deep into the pit of her stomach, she blurted, "It came back positive, Seth!"

It was quiet.

"What...Came back positive...?" Embry quirked a brow.

"Seth's a dad," Jazmyn breathed. More silence. Everyone was torn between looking at Seth, Jazmyn, and Cheri. Sam stepped forward.

"Jazmyn, if this is some kind of joke-"

"I'm not joking, Boss. It's...He - the doctor - called me last night. I...I could barely make myself wait to tell you until today," Jazmyn grinned at Seth. She turned, so he could get a look at his-

"My...daughter," he said slowly. Jazmyn nodded, grinning wider. "She's my kid," he smiled a little bit.

"Yours, Seth!" Jazmyn squealed before kissing her daughter's temple tenderly. "You wanna go to Daddy?" she whispered. Cheri hid her face in the crook of Jazmyn's neck before nodding shyly. "Go to Daddy, baby girl." With that, she was set on the ground. Jazmyn pushed her towards Seth. Everyone watched anxiously for his reaction.

Cheri looked up shyly, her blue eyes shining. She hugged her bunny rabbit closer to her a bit, waving her little hand. Seth lifted his hand in a wave, but it hung there kind of limply. He cocked his head at her. Jazmyn pushed Cheri forward a bit more.

"Hi, Daddy," she said quietly, her little voice just above a whisper. Seth's eyes softened, his hand going back to his side. With his other one, he placed a hand on his head, smiling a bit.

"Hi," he breathed. His eyes glossed over. "Hi, honey." Crouching down to her level, he reached for her. Then he retracted suddenly, afraid. "_You're really..._" he whispered. _"You're my kid_."

It was quiet, and Cheri kicked her foot around, puffing out her cheeks and looking down. She blew out the air from her mouth and looked at Seth. She smiled and waved again.

"H-hi," she said. Seth laughed.

"Hello there," he smiled. He reached for her just as she put her arms out for him to pick her up. Slowly and carefully, he lifted her off the ground, holding her tightly. Seth knitted his brows together. "Wow...Wow," was all he could say.

Cheri wrapped her little arms around his neck, nuzzling her face into his cheek. Seth's heart melted, and a breathtaking smile washed over his face, lighting up his features.

"You're so beautiful, little miss," he whispered to her, squeezing his eyes shut. A few tears escaped, and he kissed her cheek. "So, _so _gorgeous. Wow..." He kissed the top of her head, brushing back her black ringlets. With a sniff, he pulled away. "How old are you?"

"Three. Mommy says it's a magic number," she replied. Seth smiled lovingly at her, hugging her again. He stroked her hair, kissing her cheeks again and again. "You smell good, Daddy," she said, her voice muffled. Her face was buried into his neck. Seth laughed.

"Thank you." He sniffed again, grinning at his Pack. He mouthed a '_holy crap_!' which made them hoot with laughter.

"Are you my daddy forever?" Cheri asked. Pulling away again, Seth stared deep into her baby blue eyes. He nodded once, then over and over again.

"As long as our hearts are beating, Cher. For infinity, even."

"Like Buzzy Lightyears! Infin'ty and yonder!" she giggled. Seth laughed, swinging her around.

"Yeah, baby. Mhm." He looked at Jazmyn. "Jazz...You don't know..." He looked at the ceiling, a huge smile overtaking his face again.

Jazmyn bit her lip, fighting the smile on her face. She couldn't remember the last time she'd seen Seth so happy. It hurt her, doing this to him. But it was what Nathanial wanted, so she'd do it.

Even if it meant digging in deep to pull out the Grammy-winner actress inside her.

Her face broke out into a grin, and she walked over to them. Cheri turned around with a giggle.

"Daddy hugs tight, Mommy," she said. Seth only smiled at her, letting her go as she wriggled out of his arms. She grabbed Seth's hand, placing it into Jazmyn's. Then she hugged her mother's leg. "Now we can be a family, right?"

It was quiet. Seth froze, along with all the other - slightly confused - people in the room.

Jazmyn brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, looking down and pursing her lips. She looked back up when Seth said her name. He squeezed her hand, running his thumb across her knuckles. With a shiver, Jazmyn smiled at him hopefully.

Their faces inched dangerously close together until finally, they were kissing. Seth pressed his other hand on the small of her back to bring her closer, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Cheri jumped up and down happily. The Pack exchanged glances, but then smiled. They watched as the two pulled away. Jazmyn bit her lip, looking into Seth's big brown eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she breathed. "I didn't...I..." With a kiss, Seth silenced her. He pulled away.

"Just don't do it again," he muttered. Jazmyn laughed, shaking her head.

"Never, Sweetie!" she squealed. They kissed again.

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_Three Weeks Later_

Nathanial smiled, watching his little sister walk into the mansion. He paid no attention to the strong odor of werewolf; she was holding that smell much more often now that she'd mended things with her old friends.

"How was your day?" he asked, closing his book, _It_. Jazmyn grinned, twirling around and walking into the kitchen. Nathanial's smile turned into a frown.

"It was great, Nat! Seth and I spent the day at the beach with Cheri, and then the Pack came and we ended up having an awesome lunch. Sam barbecued, and we all played soccer, and-"

"Slow down," Nathanial said.

"Sorry," Jazmyn giggled. "It was just so great!"

"Where's Cheri?"

"She's spending the night with Seth. He loves her so much, Nat. You should see how his face-"

"Why is she there?"

"Because Seth and I were talking, and we agreed that it would be nice to have her sleep over. You know he-"

"Great. Now she's going to smell like _dog _when she gets home tomorrow," Nathanial stood up, rolling his eyes. Jazmyn just continued blabbering away.

"Sethy is _so _cute with her. His face lights up every time she talks to him, or laughs, or-"

"Shut up," Nathanial hissed silently. Jazmyn stared at him, but clamped her mouth shut. She took a sip of water.

"I'm gonna go change into some pajamas," she said.

"Come here." Nathanial reached for her. When she was in front of him, he put a hand on her shoulder and stared deep into her eyes. "Listen to me," he said, his voice low and intimidating. "We are here on business. Don't allow yourself to get too attached to that dog and his pack, you hear me? _Business_, Jazmyn."

She nodded.

"With that said. End of the week. We're finishing this. And then it's off to Canada. I've heard about a-"

"_What_?" Jazmyn wrenched her hand free, earning herself a bruise. "What do you mean the end of the week?!"

"I mean that...In four days, the La Push wolves...Die," Nathanial replied simply. He squeezed her shoulder lightly. "I'm going to go hunt. See you tomorrow!" he waved, sprinting out the back door.

And just like that, Jazmyn Anderson was alone.

David, Natalie, and Casey had all gone away for the day.

Cheri was with her father.

Nathanial went hunting.

And now...Jazmyn was alone.

_Better get used to it, bitch._

00000000000000000000000

Today was the day. Leah was getting out of the hospital. One month after getting into this mess, and she was finally getting out.

The first place Jacob took her to was Sam's house. Everyone was there, and waiting for her arrival. They cheered and hugged her when she walked through the door, bombarding the poor girl with their bodies. She just smiled, hugging them back.

"Hi, guys," she laughed. "I missed you, too!" She hugged her brother. "Especially you, my baby bro-bro!"

"Leah..." Seth rolled his eyes and growled. He picked up Cheri, holding her so that Leah could get a good look at her.

"Hi!" the little girl waved. Leah grinned, squealing a little bit.

"Oh, you're a_dorable_! You look like your mommy, baby girl."

"But I'm _Cheri_! And I'm _three_! Look, this is Horton! He's my bunny!"

"Hi, Horton," Leah laughed.

"Kiss his cheek! He likes kisses!"

Leah giggled, kissing the stuffed animal's cheek.

"He likes you. Are you my aunty?"

"Yeah, I am," Leah smiled happily, excitement at being an aunt radiating off of her body.

"_Cool_!" Cheri laughed. "Daddy, that's my aunty!"

"Yeah, I know. She's awesome, you'll love her, Cher," Seth said to her. "Come on, Emily made some food. You hungry?" he asked her.

"Super-_duper _hungry!"

Leah smiled at them, before excusing herself to the bathroom. Inside, she looked at her reflection in the mirror, turning from side to side. She fluffed out her floral blouse, then straightened out a wrinkle on her jeans.

A knock on the door made her open it, and she smiled.

"Em says no one can eat until you get in there," Jacob smirked. Leah stood on her tiptoes and kissed him tenderly, taking his hand as he led her into the dining area. Everyone was seated, and looked to Leah as she could take her seat. When she did, she grinned, and Jacob set a plate of food down in front of her.

Anxiously, everyone waited for her to take a bite.

Leah stared at it. It was a big step for her; to eat in front of people. But even so, she picked up her fork, taking up some spaghetti. Slowly, she moved it towards her mouth and took a bite, chewing it slowly.

There was an exchange of relieved and happy looks before the conversation picked up and everyone else began to eat. Leah felt awkward and disgusting eating in front of everyone. She felt like...Like...Like a pig, almost.

And she'd only taken one bite.

She had about...Oh...A whole _plate_ful left to get down her throat before the night was over.

She thought about taking the plate with her into the kitchen, eating it alone, and then throwing it up afterwards. Because that's what she was used to doing.

But she hadn't gone through a whole month of hell for nothing.

_I didn't put _Jacob _through hell for nothing_, she thought to herself.

She took another bite, and ate it, squeezing her eyes shut tight so she wouldn't meet the eyes of anyone else. Then she finished off the rest of her plate, along with a breadstick.

When she was finished, she sat back in her chair, placing a hand over her stuffed belly. It sat like a load of rocks in the bottom of her stomach, and she closed her eyes, leaning her head on her fiancé's shoulder. She swallowed hard.

"Jake..." she whispered.

"You're fine, Leah," he said gently. She sniffed. For twenty-two days, a feeding tube kept her nourished. For eight days, she was eating small portions provided by the hospital. Then they'd gradually increase those, making it a full meal.

Even then, it'd been hard.

And now that she didn't have the help of Dr. Cullen, it was even harder.

She opened her eyes, looking in the direction of the bathroom.

_Don't do it, Leah. This is a great step, girl! You've proven that you're getting better! Things can only go up from now._

Closing her eyes again, she nuzzled more into Jacob's shoulder. She grabbed his hand, massaging his knuckles.

"You're so brave and strong, Leah. I love you," he whispered into her ear. She smiled, and he kissed her cheek. She kissed his hand, squeezing it tight.

Seth smiled as Cheri explained a story of the caribou she'd encountered on a camping trip a few months earlier. She used her fork and spoon to mimic the huge antlers he'd had on his head. She made a funny face, and Seth laughed.

"That's hilarious. I wish I coulda been there for that," he said truthfully.

"But we can take a'other one! You and me and Mommy," Cheri grinned, setting down her utensils. Seth nodded happily, giving her a high five. Embry tapped his shoulder, and he turned with a smile, starting a conversation with him about sports.

"I ran into a guy one time. He said he was a player for the Celtics. I didn't believe him. Man was so high, he-"

"Daddy?" Cheri whispered. She leaned on his shoulder, yawning wide and closing her eyes.

"Oh, someone's tired," Kim smiled, pointing to the little girl with her fork. She didn't like Jazmyn, but Cheri was too adorable not to like. Seth glanced at her, giving her a quick smile.

"Alright, c'mon, Cherry-Berry," he said. He stood, picking her up. She laid her head on his shoulder, and he carried her over to the couch. After laying her down gently, he took off the hoodie he was wearing and laid it over her. Then he kissed her temple softly, caressing her cheek. "'Night, sweetie. I love you."

"Mmm..." Cheri murmured, hugging Horton tightly.

Standing back up Seth said, "So, anyway-" He frowned, seeing everyone staring at him with smiles on their faces. "What?"

"Oh. Nothing," Claire shook her head.

"Really. What?"

"Nothing. Just sit down and tell us more about that Celtics guy," Embry said.

"Tell me why you're all staring at me first," Seth crossed his arms. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," Emily shook her head.

"You're just so super adorably cute with your daughter. It's hard not to look," Quil laughed. Seth shrugged, sitting back down.

"Yeah, well..." He looked up, making everyone laugh again.

"Seriously. You only met the kid not even a month ago, and it's like you've known her for years," Sam said.

"I don't know..." Seth shrugged again, glancing at the couch where his daughter was sleeping soundly. A smile graced his face, and he looked down. His brothers 'ohhed' and slapped his back playfully.

"How cute are _you_?" Leah laughed.

"Cute?" Seth scoffed, mocking hurt. "I think that you mean, uh, _gorgeous_."

"Shut up," she kicked his leg lightly under the table. Seth grinned wider.

"Hey, home girl finished her plate. I think that deserves a round of applause," Kim lightly elbowed Leah with a wide smile. Leah shook her head, covering her face with her hands as everyone cheered. She peeked through her fingers, rolling her eyes.

"It was good, Emily," she murmured.

"Thanks. You want anymore? I have plenty."

"I'm fine," Leah shook her head again. "I'm full, though," she sighed.

"That's a good thing," Seth eyed her.

"I guess," Leah shrugged.

Back at the house, Jacob kissed her quickly before going into the bedroom out of the clothes he was wearing. Leah set her large duffel bag down by the dining room table before padding quietly to the bathroom.

She sniffed back tears as she sat down on the toilet, but soon they started to fall openly. And she began to cry. She dug her nails into her arms, willing herself not to stand up and do what her body wanted her to do. The pain made her eyes sting, and she cried even more.

Jacob heard her, and quickly ran to the door. He relaxed, not seeing her hovered over the porcelain bowl like he'd expected. He walked in and kneeled by her side, staring sorrowfully at her. She sniffed, wiping away her tears.

It was quiet for a few moments before Jacob smiled.

"'Sometimes I feel like I should do crystal meth, but then I think 'Mmm...Better not...''"

Leah giggled, sniffing again.

"'Whoop, there it is,'" she pointed to him, making Jacob laugh. She looked at him, and he grinned. "You got _Pitch Perfect_?"

"Yeah. It's waiting for you in the living room. I don't have patrol tonight. We could watch it...I could pop some popcorn if you want." Leah sniffed and shrugged.

"That'd be nice," she smiled. Jacob stood, helping Leah stand up as well. He sat her on the couch, going to pop a bag of popcorn in the microwave. He put in the movie, and the popcorn was done just when the menu popped up.

Leah pressed play, and Jacob came back to sit down. She leaned her head on his chest, her hand resting on his stomach. She fingered his shirt, and he kissed the top of her head, making her smile.

"I love you, Jakey," she murmured.

"I love you, too, Lee."

Leah felt like she'd never laughed harder in her life than she did in the one-hundred and twelve minutes that the movie was on. She cried, but they were from laughing so hard. Jacob laughed at Leah, falling all over his lap and holding her stomach. He couldn't remember the last time she was so happy.

And the thing that made _him _happy was that she was happy.

Oh, and she ate a handful of popcorn.

It had butter on it. Leah didn't eat _butter _popcorn.

But that was okay. Because she was eating. And happy. And that was what mattered the most to him.

**So this was kind of a filler chapter...But I hoped you like it anyway! Leah's all better, yay! And Seth's a dad! WOO-HOO!**

**But will the blissfulness last? **

**DUN. DUH-DUN-DUN. DUN. DUH-DUN-DUN-DUNNNNN!**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Jazmyn paced restlessly on the front porch of Seth's house, thinking about what she would tell him. When she announced that he was the father of Cheri, she'd told herself to forget about what was _really _happening.

And she did.

It was too late when she finally realized what was going to happen, and now...Now she couldn't do anything about it.

Jazmyn was snapped out of her thoughts when the door opened, revealing a smiling Sue, who hugged her and ushered her into the door.

"Cheri was a little _angel_, Jazmyn! She's very polite, and well-mannered..." Sue smiled dreamily. "I forgot what it was like to have a little child running around the house. Thank you for letting her spend the night."

"No, really. Thank _you_, I had so much work..." Jazmyn grinned, waving her off.

"Mommy! Hi, Mommy!" Cheri squealed, bounding down the stairs. She hopped off the last one, then ran the rest of the way to Jazmyn. She jumped into her mother's arms, immediately beginning to blabber off about her 'super-duper amazing time with Daddy.'

"And _then _I falled 'sleep, but Daddy was super-duper nice and he carried be ever'where 'cause he's a nice person, Mommy. Super-duper nice, Mommy. I love my daddy!"

Jazmyn forced a smile, hugging Cheri. Seth smiled at them, placing his hands into his pockets.

"Well I missed you just so super-duper much, Cherry-Berry!"

"Well I missed you super-duper _more_, Mommy!"

"I bet I missed her more than you," Seth joked, kissing Jazmyn's cheek. "Hey, beautiful."

"Hello, handsome."

"Hi, people!" Cheri threw her hands up, grinning. Seth and Jazmyn laughed, both of them kissing her cheeks.

It was amazing, how spending the day with people she loved, made Jazmyn forget about why she'd come back to La Push in the first place. But she had learned to work through it; push down the horrible guilt she felt every time Seth kissed her...Or just plain looked at her with those gorgeous brown eyes he had.

And she realized...It was getting harder and harder to do.

Jazmyn sat down on a beach towel, talking and laughing with the Pack and the girls like old times. It was one of the annual bonfires that they were having, and she was actually having the time of her life. Until...

"So, Jazz. We're all gonna take a camping trip this weekend. Us, the girls...Everyone. You wanna go?" Seth asked. "We're gonna head out early Saturday. Be back Sunday afternoon. What do you say?"

Kim even looked eager for Jazmyn's answer; hoping she'd say yes so she could see the girl suffer the long hike they were going to take.

Jazmyn grinned...But then it faded away quickly. She looked out at everyone's happy faces, waiting for her to say the word that she'd go.

"Camping?! Like that time with Uncle, Mommy!" Cheri exclaimed. "'Cept...It's Daddy this time! Ooh, let's go! Let's go, _please_, Mommy!"

"Yeah. Come on, Jazz," Seth grinned at her. "Don't worry, I'll scare away all the _bears_," he joked, glancing at Paul. Jazmyn looked down.

_Three days, bitch. And they don't suspect anything._

"Umm...S-sure. Sure," she smiled, nodding. Everyone cheered, and Cheri hopped around happily.

"Camp_ing_, _camp_ing, we're going _camping_!" she sang, falling into Seth's lap. He blew a raspberry on her cheek, making her giggle harder. Jazmyn sighed, smiling sadly at them.

_I hate my life, I really do._

Back at the mansion, Nathanial immediately handed her small bottles with an yellow-brownish liquid on the inside. Jazmyn took them with a glum smile, taking them upstairs to her room. She set them on her dresser and stared, feeling tears well up in her eyes.

"Why are you crying?"

Quickly wiping away her tears she replied, "No reason. Just...Girly hormones, I guess."

"You never cry before The End," Natalie frowned, crossing her arms over herself. "Nathanial was right, you've become too attached to those _dogs_."

"No I-"

"Yes you have. You're a good liar, Jazmyn, but I can see _straight _through that little facade of yours," Natalie said stubbornly.

"Okay, o_kay_. But what do you expect? He imprinted on me, Natty! _Imprinted_! I love him so much it-" Jazmyn stopped talking when Natalie snorted a laugh.

"_Love_? A _dog_? Umm...Are you sure you didn't drink the venom Nathanial gave you? You're going a little crazy there, Jazz."

"I'm not _crazy_. I _love _Seth, and nothing you or Nathanial can say will make me love him any less. I hate doing this to him, Natalie. _Hate it_. I...I don't even know _why _I'm doing it." Jazmyn began to cry, and Natalie scrunched up her nose. She turned and walked out of the room, but turned around.

"Take a shower before you come back downstairs. Your dog stank is getting all over the house."

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He was going to do it.

_Fuck, Seth, you're crazy_.

But he was going to _do it_.

He didn't have a ring - but he'd save all of his money for the rest of his _life_ until he could get one.

But still, he was going to do it.

"How?" Leah asked.

"Actually, I'm not really sure yet. But I'll get back to you on that when it happens," Seth smiled at her. Leah grinned, hugging him.

"I'm happy for you, Baby Bro. But we're not doing a double wedding, got it? My wedding is _my _wedding and it shall forever _be _my wedding. I'm not sharing my day with _anyone_, got it?"

"Got it, Lee." Seth rolled his eyes, but smiled.

"Hey, remember that time when you said that you weren't sure how you were gonna ask Jazmyn to marry you?" Leah asked. Seth frowned.

"That was only, like, ten seconds ago, Leah."

"Well, you're about to find your answer. Hey, Jazz," Leah smiled and waved at the woman coming up the walk. Seth's heart dropped to his knees; he knew she was beautiful, but he just felt like she couldn't be any more beautiful than at that moment.

Leah patted his shoulder, going back inside the house.

"Cher's with Sue at the diner. I came to talk to you about-"

"Marry me, Jazz," Seth blurted.

Silence.

Jazmyn's eyes welled up, and she swallowed.

"W-w-what?"

"M...Marry me. Jazmyn Anderson," he repeated, taking her hands into his. "I...I love you so, _so _much, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. And our daughter."

Tears were falling down Jazmyn's face as she watched him get down on one knee, his thumbs rubbing small circles on her knuckles.

"Jazmyn...? Will you marry me?" he asked hopefully, grinning up at her. A hand flew to Jazmyn's face, and she started to cry harder, nodding over and over again. Seth stood up, hugging her tightly. She buried her face into his chest, squeezing her imprint even tighter.

She began to sob; half from happiness and half from fear.

"I love you so much, Sethy," she choked out. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Sorry? Sorry for what?"

Jazmyn sniffed, shaking her head.

"I've...I've done so much to you-" _You're about to do even _more _to him, _she thought. "-You don't...You don't need to do this."

"Jazz, I want to, okay? I love you, you hear? I love you with everything I have and own. I would've never been able to say that if you didn't come back to me. I want to go through everything together. And I feel like doing this...Making a promise to each other that we'll always be together...Love each other forever? I feel like doing that...It's best for us. _Perfect _for us, Jazzy."

Jazmyn gripped his shirt, crying harder into it.

_One day. One day, bitch._

The bottles were sitting in the glove department of her car; ready for what was to come.

But was she ready?

...

_You're ready, _she told herself. _You're ready, Jazmyn. _

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She wasn't ready. No, no, no she wasn't.

Nathanial grasped her hands into his cold ones, staring deep into her eyes.

"You can do this. You'll be a hero, Jazmyn. You _are _a hero, Jazzy. Doing this...You're saving lives, little sister."

Like an idiot, Jazmyn nodded. Her brother planted a cold kiss on her cheek, brushing back her hair.

"As soon as you've done it, excuse yourself from the house. We'll be waiting. Eight o'clock, got it?"

"Mhm."

"Good girl. Cheri, time to go with Mommy," Nathanial called. David, Casey, and Natalie each kissed the little girl's cheek, then she skipped to take Jazmyn's hand. Nathanial nodded at his sister once, watching her go to the car.

She got in, started it, and placed her hands on the steering wheel. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched Nathanial close the door to the mansion. In the rearview mirror, she watched as her daughter expertly buckled herself into her booster seat.

Jazmyn looked at the glove department, then reached for it. She pulled out the bottles and placed them into her purse. With one last sigh, she pulled out onto the road.

0000000000000000000000000000 00

"You're being really quiet today," Seth frowned.

"Oh? Well, fuck, I'm sorry."

"One."

"Oh. Shit."

"Two."

"Dammit, Seth!"

"Wow, we're just full of colorful vocabulary today, aren't we?"

"Sorry, it's just...Ugh."

"Hey, you two!" Leah said, walking up to them. Everyone looked at her. "You got any news for us? Huh? Do you? Do you, do you, do you?" she asked, bouncing up and down. The Pack frowned, and the girls exchanged knowing glances.

Seth and Jazmyn looked at each other, Seth immediately breaking out into a smile. Jazmyn followed suit, and he took his hand tightly into his. She bit her lip, looking out at everyone again.

"We're...We're engaged," she squeaked, her eyes welling up at the sheer thought of it. Seth kissed her cheek just as the house filled with excited gasps and cheers, everyone jumping up to give out hugs for Jazmyn and pats on the back for Seth.

Jazmyn bit her lip, finding it hard to look into the happy faces of her friends. They were all looking forward to the future...Not knowing that in a few hours, it'd be stripped away from them.

She squeezed her eyes shut, biting so hard on her lip, she thought she tasted blood.

Finally, unable to take it anymore, she blurted out, "I can't do this!" With that, she yanked her hand from Seth's, turning around and placing her head into her palms. "I can't. I can't, do it!" she cried. "I'm sorry, but...We can't. We can't get married, Seth."

"What are you-"

"I'm a liar. A damned _liar_. And it's time that you all know the truth."

Silence.

Jazmyn glanced at the wall clock; _6:52._

She took in a deep breath, walking over to her purse and taking out the little bottles. It was venom from her brother and the others. Dangerous venom. Anyone injected with it - or who swallowed it - died. It didn't take too long, either.

"What's that?" Sam stood up.

"I came here..." Jazmyn sucked in a breath and let it out. "I came here to kill you guys...The Pack, I mean. My brother, Nathanial, I thought he died when I was ten. But a few years back, he came to me, and tried to get me to go with him. He and his friends try to wipe out you guys. Wolves. But I didn't go with him. Not then..."

Seth swallowed, looking down.

"...And then...Then I found out I was pregnant." She laughed once. "And I...Seth and I were so scared. But..." Jazmyn sniffed, closing her eyes. "You know what we've been through since then. And when you hung up, Seth, I was crying...I was crying so much and Nat came back to me. And I don't know...It's like something inside my body made me go with him. And I did. I held his ice cold hand as I pushed out my kid for forty-five minutes. And Cheri was born."

Seth's eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening. He knew what was coming next, but he could bring himself to come to terms with it.

"...And then...Three years later, Nathanial was so excited. And he planned with everyone to come here, and finish off the La Push wolves. I knew...Deep down, that this was bad. It was a bad...Horrible plan, but I did it. I'm...I'm doing it. But then I came here...And I found out Seth was gone...But then he came back, and everything I'd felt for him in the past just came rushing back into me again. And then...And then Dr. Burke. And...And...I want to believe it. I really do. I want to say that...That Cheri's yours...But I-"

"You lied," Seth said slowly. "And I believed you."

Jazmyn nodded, her eyes still closed.

"'Cause you're good like that. You're a fantastic liar, Jazz. Me." Seth laughed coldly. "I was stupid and ignorant enough to believe it."

"Mhm," Jazmyn whimpered. "And..."

"So what you and I have...What we...You said you loved me. I love you. So that was all a stupid trick? A trap? So you could kill me later?"

"Seth, no. It's..."

_Ha. Can't get yourself out of this now, can you, bitch?_

"I..." Jazmyn sniffed back tears, opening up the bottles. "I'm not going to do it. But I want you to know...There're four, horribly evil vamps that are supposed to be out there in an hour. Kill them. I want them dead." Jazmyn thought about her brother, and squeezed the neck of a bottle. "For good."

She looked at her daughter, he stared at her mother, a confused look on her face.

"Cher, Cheri baby, come here." Jazmyn wrapped her up in a hug, kissing her cheek. "I love you, remember that, okay?"

"Jazz-"

"Take care of her for me? Don't let her forget me."

"Jazz, what're you-"

"Seth..." Jazmyn looked at him. "I'm sorry. But...An apology can't express..." she fumbled for the right words to say, picking up one of the bottles. "I...If anyone's gonna die...? It's gonna be me."

"Jazmyn, no. No, no." Seth rushed over to her, gripping the bottle in his hand. He placed his other hand on her cheek. "Baby, give me the bottle," he said with gritted teeth. Jazmyn shook her head over and over again, fighting to raise it to her lips.

"I'm horrible, Seth! No one...No one can love me for what I did. For what I do!"

"But I'm not going to let you die, okay? It's just a few vamps. We can kill 'em off in no time, no harm done. Okay? Give me the-"

"Get off of her."

The Pack's heads all snapped to the door, where four vampires stood menacingly. Cheri ran to Nathanial, who gently pushed her behind his leg. Leah ushered the rest of the girls away into the kitchen. The Pack was now leaning forward defensively, ready to phase if they needed to.

"N-Nat," Jazmyn choked. She'd never been so scared in her life.

"I knew you'd gotten too close to them," Nathanial hissed. "Step aside, or we won't hesitate to kill you, either."

"No! Don't kill them! Kill _me_! _Me_, Nat! I won't let you do this to them!" Jazmyn screamed, rushing forward.

"They're a threat, Jazzy. Don't you get it?" Nathanial said in a low voice.

"The only _threat_ here is _you_, Nathanial," Jazmyn whispered sharply. It was quiet, and Nathanial straightened, his face emotionless.

"Take the child outside," he ordered Casey, placing a hand on her shoulder. He pulled it away and she nodded, picking up Cheri. He moved his hand, putting it on his sister's shoulder. He smiled at her, and then leaned down, near her ear. Suddenly, he flashed his teeth, then finally sunk them in to her neck.

"JAZMYN!" Seth yelled. He ripped out of his clothes, bursting into a wolf. His imprint sank to her knees and slumped on the floor just as Seth lunged at Nathanial, who grinned as his body collided with the wolf's.

Seth's eyes were as black as a starless sky as he ripped the vampire to shreds. Natalie and David were being chased off by Quil and Embry, and Casey stayed behind with Cheri in the car. They sat silently.

A fire was started, and Nathanial's remains were burned. Seth phased back quickly, Sam throwing him a pair of shorts. He threw them on haphazardly before running back to his imprint's side.

"I've called one of the Cullens. He can suck the venom out," Jared said hurriedly. He swallowed, looking down at Jazmyn's weak frame. Her throat was making a choking-clucking sound, and her eyes were glossed over.

"Son, I'm going to need you to step aside," Carlisle's calm voice said smoothly. Obediently, Seth moved, and Carlisle leaned down, placing his teeth into the bite marks on Jazmyn's neck. She stared up at the ceiling, her fist clenching and unclenching. Her teeth were gritted tight.

Carlisle sat up again.

"It's spreading quickly," he said. "I don't know-"

"You have to try!" Seth yelled. "I can't let her...She can't leave me," he said, his voice quivering. Carlisle thought quickly, thinking of something to do. "Hurry up! Her heart...It's slowing down."

"I could...I could bite her again." Carlisle picked up Jazmyn's hand. "And...There is a chance that my venom could counteract, and...And she'd be one of us."

"Seth..." Jazmyn whispered weakly. "I can't do that...To you..." She sucked in a breath.

"Jazzy, I don't want you to die," Seth began crying.

"But I couldn't live forever without you, Seth..."

"Jazz, me neither. Me neither, baby."

"And Cheri..."

"We can still be a normal family, sweetie, okay? I don't want you to-"

With all her energy, Jazmyn reached up and touched Seth's cheek lightly, a quivering smile etching itself onto her face. Seth grasped her hand into his, leaning into her cold touch. She shook her head slowly, and her eyes drooped closed.

"I love you, hotshot," she whispered so quiet, even Seth had to strain his ears to hear her.

"Jazz...Jazz, baby, no. No! Don't...!"

Jazmyn took in one last breath and died right there, her hand slipping away from Seth's. Her lids were half closed, and her facial expression relaxed into a sort of half smile and grimace.

"JAZZ!" Seth yelled. He began to sob, grasping her lifeless hands into his again. "Jazzy, baby. No, no, no, Jazz..." He cried, burying his face into her hand. He sucked in deep breaths of air, trying to get oxygen to his lungs. He couldn't seem to get it, and he felt like someone was sitting on his chest and wouldn't let him breathe. It tightened up, and he suddenly felt scared for his life.

But he didn't care. He wanted to die. To be with her; his Jazz.

Leah pulled him away, holding him close to her. She cradled him in her arms, kissing the top of her head as he took in gulps of air.

"You'll be alright. It's going to be alright." She did her best to cover his eyes so he wouldn't see Jazmyn's body being carried out of the house. "You'll be fine. Okay? You're o_kay_, Baby Bro."

"J-J-J..."

"Shut up. Look at me, okay? At me," Leah turned his head to face her. He stared into her eyes, and his breathing slowed. She held him tightly again, letting him cry.

"Daddy?" a small voice squeaked. Seth's eyes burst open wide, and he sniffed, moving away from Leah. Cheri gripped her bunny rabbit close to her, and she had her thumb in her mouth. "Where's Mommy goin'?"

"Come here, baby," Seth whispered. He wrapped her in a hug, kissing the top of her head. "Mommy's...Mommy's on a business trip. She won't be back for a long, long while."

"Oh. But she'll be back, right?"

Seth was quiet. He stared into Cheri's blue eyes...Jazmyn's blue eyes. He broke down again, pulling her close one more time.

He couldn't lie to her. He loved Jazmyn. With all his heart.

He just couldn't _be _Jazmyn.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

_It still doesn't seem real...Because it isn't real. It's not...It's-_

Seth's mind went blank as he watched the men in their white gloves close the casket, sealing Jazmyn's body in forever. He absentmindedly held Cheri closer to him, trying to feel Jazmyn through the little girl's touch.

He still let her call him 'dad'. He didn't have the heart to tell her that he wasn't. When she was older, though, he'd tell her the truth. There were so many different stories that soared through his head; different things that he could tell her. But when he really thought about it, it would be like he was becoming Jazmyn.

He didn't want that.

"There were...A lot of things...My cousin did...Some I can't be proud of, but it all pales in comparison to how much...How much I loved her," Heaven rushed out the last bit, pursing her lips together to keep from breaking down. In the end, she covered her face with her hands, shaking her head over and over again. She took three steps towards her imprint before he stood up and took her in his arms. Embry sighed.

"We all loved her," he said aloud. "Each and every one of us."

Kim looked at the corner of the ceiling, her jaw tight.

_I hate her, I hate her, I hate her, _she thought over and over again. But she couldn't get rid of the fact that she actually didn't hate Jazmyn, and felt stupid for carrying such a dumb grudge on the girl for all those years.

She laid her head on Jared's shoulder with a sigh, closing her eyes. A single tear slipped out, and she roughly wiped it away.

Seth placed Cheri on the ground, standing up and taking her hand. She walked with him slowly to the front of the church, and he picked her up so she could reach over and put a red rose on her mother's casket.

Jazmyn's favorite.

Cheri put her free hand on the silver lock and sniffed. She turned around and motioned for Seth to get down to her level.

"Mommy's for reals gone now, uhuh?" she asked. Seth glanced at the toe parts of her Mary Janes, then back at her glossy blue eyes. He hadn't even opened his mouth to answer before she started to cry.

The sound broke his heart. In the time he'd known Cheri, he'd never heard her cry. The feeling it brought over him could probably be described to the same feeling he felt when Jazmyn had died holding his hand.

"Can I..." she wailed. "Can't I go with her? She left me..." Sniff. "Here! Daddy, how come?"

Seth picked her up again, carrying her out into the foyer of the church. He rocked back and forth with her, all the while trying to keep strong for her himself.

"Shh...Shh, baby girl."

"M...M-Mommy," she cried, hiccupping a little.

"We're going to see her soon, Cher. Maybe not now, but soon. Okay? Don't cry, honey."

He closed his eyes, hugging her tight as she calmed down. The door opened, and Seth turned, facing Sam, who smiled a little.

"They took the casket through the back door. Everyone's going with it to the burial site. Are you...?"

Seth smiled grimly and shook his head, glancing at Cheri who still hadn't calmed down. Sam smiled and nodded, going back into the auditorium.

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He went to see her every day. On his way to see Harry. She was resting a little ways away from the entrance of the memorial site, where the grass was greenest at this time of year. Her headstone looked nice nestled in the grass: _Jazmyn Stefani Christina Anderson_.

Seth smiled, kneeling down next to it. He brushed off an imaginary speck of dust here, waved away an imaginary spider web there. Perfect.

"You're gorgeous today, baby," he sighed contentedly. He set down a bouquet of flowers, arranging them just right. "You get more beautiful every day."

He talked to her for a little bit, convinced that onlookers would find him insane. But it didn't matter to him. After that, he went to visit Harry. Seth didn't talk here; that happened often. Some days, he'd sit and talk to his father for hours. Others, he'd just sit down and stay silent. He liked those days. It was the best time for clearing his head and thinking when he really truly needed it.

Forty-three days since the wolf had seen his last cigarette. There were those times when he thought he'd die without one, but then he remembered his mother and everyone else. It kept him going. But...But he was a quieter person now; really only speaking when he absolutely had to. His new behavior seemed to rub off on Cheri, and she was exactly the same way. Still polite; but not the talkative little chatterbox that she once was.

Slowly but surely, Seth began to fall into a routine. A slow, quiet routine.

Wake up and wash. Go to work. Pick up Cheri from Miss Pocket's. Sit with her on the couch until the two fell asleep. Repeat.

This cycle continued on for weeks, and soon Seth was keeping more and more to himself. Now he barely talked, even if he had to. The speaker would have to keep prying until Seth would finally seem to notice them and then he'd answer with a short response. Cheri followed whatever he did.

The little girl liked to sleep next to Seth on the couch. When he tried to lay her down in her own bed, she'd whimper and cry until he finally gave in. She was almost attached to him at the hip, that's how often she left him. It was her way of grieving, Sue had told him. Seth had nodded, and he tried to be there for Cheri as best he could.

He was grieving, too.

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"Jake! Jake, Jake, _Jake_!"

"Leah," Jacob laughed. She ran into him, hugging him as tightly as she could. "Whoa, what's happening?"

"Okay...So...Good news first, great news, or _fantastic _news first?" she asked, pulling away. She and Jacob had married just a few weeks before, and they were closer than ever...If that was even possible. Leah had let her hair grow out a bit, and she smiled more often than she used to.

Jacob was about to answer Leah's question when she waved him off.

"Never mind your answer, I'll tell you the good news first! As of...Seventeen minutes and forty-two seconds ago, Leah Black is now precisely 131.9 pounds," she announced happily.

"What? Really?" Jacob raised his eyebrows, grinning widely. He was ecstatic for her. "Look at you, all past the one-thirty mark. Up top, babe." They high-fived. Leah squealed. "What's the great news?"

"I had a doctor's appointment!"

"Umm...Okay...?" Jacob knitted his brows together with a small grin.

"Now, the fan_tastic _news is gonna blow your socks off. You ready, Jakey?"

"Sure."

Leah bit her lip, her smile growing wider and wider. Finally, she squealed again, jumping up with joy.

"I'm pregnant!"

Silence.

Jacob's mouth dropped, and his eyebrows raised at the news.

"You're...You're..." he breathed. Leah nodded.

"We're gonna be parents, Jakey," she said softly, then he hugged her tight. Swinging her around. "I have high hopes for this one." He nodded into the crook of her neck, kissing her over and over again.

"I'm so happy for you," he said.

"For _us_, you mean."

"Yeah, Lee. For the both of us."

"I love you, Mr. Black."

"I love you more, Mrs. Black."

"I don't think that's possible, but okay. Whatever floats your boat, bro." Jacob laughed, kissing his wife's cheek. He couldn't wait to see his son or daughter. Like Leah said he had 'high hopes' for the baby inside of her.

"I love you more than you love you," Jacob said. "I love your eyes...And your cheeks...Your lips..." he kissed her, making her smile.

"For real, guys. If you're gonna do that, at least go inside."

The two turned, smirking when they saw Quil, who only laughed.

"It's all good," he said. "But seriously. You look like you're about to fuck each other right here. Please. Keep it PG."

"Aye, aye, captain," Jacob gave him a half-hearted salute.

"What brings you by?" Leah asked, lacing her fingers into Jacob's. Quil opened his mouth to answer when Sue's car pulled up. She got out, a look of panic clouding her features.

"Mom-"

"He's gone. Seth's gone again." Her shaking hand reached into her jean pocket and she pulled out a crumbled white piece of paper. "H-h-he left this."

_Hey,_

_ I can't stay here anymore. Too many bad memories. I love you. And Leah, and make sure Cher grows up nice, alright? I'll come back one day. And maybe then, it'll be for good._

_ -Seth_

0000000000000000000000000000 

Seth slid into a taxi, shutting the door behind him. He sighed, looking at the ceiling. The driver pulled out, and the young wolf watched Seattle's talk skyscrapers rush past him. He smiled at it, closing his eyes for a bit.

"I said 'where you headed', kid?" the driver asked, looking at Seth through the rearview mirror.

"Oh, umm..."

Seattle was gone; they were in the suburbs of Tacoma now.

"Here's fine," he said. He took some money out of his pocket - his last few pieces of cash - and leaned over to put it on the front seat. "Thanks."

"Yup."

Seth slid out of the seat, listening as the taxi driver rolled away. Slowly, he walked down the street of houses, unsure as to where he was going. He had nothing with him...It was just him, his wallet, Harry's chain.

Oh. And Leah's guitar.

If he was back home, she'd kill him for sure.

He carried it on his back inside of a black case that kept it safe from the outside world. He liked it there. Even if he wanted to forget La Push, it was like having a part of his family with him. Because he loved his family.

"Hey!"

Seth was snapped out of his thoughts when a soccer ball rolled in front of him and stopped at his feet. He looked to his right, seeing a large front lawn and a girl standing on the green grass. She looked at him expectantly, her arms outstretched for the ball.

The girl looked his age, maybe a year or two younger. She was pretty, he thought. But she had nothing on Jazmyn. Nothing at all.

"Umm...You wanna hand me that ball?" she asked.

"Sure." Seth picked it up and tossed it to her.

"Thanks, man! Hey, I've never seen you around. You new?"

"Um, I, uh...I'm from the Forks area."

"What brings you around here?"

"That rainy little place didn't work out for me," Seth stuck his hands into his pockets. "So...Thought I'd just...Wander."

"So you're homeless."

"I prefer _nomad_."

"...So you're homeless."

"Fine. Sure. Whatever floats your boat."

"Sorry, but my boat sailed away a long time ago."

"Okay."

"You hungry?"

"A little."

"I'm Liberty."

"Seth."

"Want something to eat?"

"If it's alright."

"Okay."

Liberty led Seth into her house, making him sit down at the kitchen table. Four pairs of eyes stared at him from the other side, making Seth wave uncomfortably.

"Libby brought a strange man in our house! See, this is why _I _should be in charge," one of them said.

"Shut up, Brianna."

"_Bleh_!"

"All you guys. _Shoo_." Liberty walked back in with a plate of pizza rolls. "_Bon apetite. _This is...How you say...Zah pizza roll-zah!"

"Your French accent sucks."

"Shut up."

Who knew that over a plate of pizza rolls, Seth would end up staying the night. As he laid on the couch, he looked at the ceiling. He thought about Cheri, and his mother...Leah, Jacob, and the rest of his Pack. How they were taking his leaving again. It was a pretty selfish move, but it's what he felt right doing.

It didn't seem like he was the kind of person that could always be tied down to one place. Like he said earlier; he was a nomad. A wanderer. And he was proud to be one.

He would endure the many panic attacks and shit that he knew life would bring him. He felt he was ready to be on his own.

"Seth?" someone asked quietly.

"Yeah," he replied.

"Oh. Um...Are you...Are you leaving soon?"

"Most likely. Thanks for letting me stay."

"Where will you go?" Liberty asked.

Seth frowned. Where _would _he go? Not back to La Push, that was for sure. In time, yes. But for now...

Seth shrugged, his eyes still on the ceiling. He closed them, smiling a bit.

"Actually...I'm not really sure yet."

**FIN. Yeah, I know. The story was short, and the ending...You all probably wanted more. Maybe I'll write a sequel. Maybe not...Who knows? Thank you, wonderful reviewers, for REVIEWING. You are the beautiful things that kept me going all eighteen chapters! So...I guess review on this one? Kay. Bye.**

**~SashaFierce12.0**


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